Committee recommends federal waiver to head off diploma issues
10/19/2017

A legislative study committee voted Wednesday to recommend the state secure a federal waiver to avoid a pending graduation rate and accountability crisis facing schools next year.

The move comes after the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) informed schools earlier this year that under the new federal regulations in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Indiana’s general diploma will no longer be considered when  calculating school graduation rates and A – F grades.

There are approximately 8,600 students who earned a general diploma, which would result in a drastic decline in Indiana’s graduation rate. Using data from 2016, the rate would fall from 89.1 percent down to 76.5 percent.

All of this comes as the state is preparing to create all new graduation requirements that will include a complex set of graduation pathways.

Looking to take a proactive approach, a group of legislators on the Interim Study Committee on Education voted to have the IDOE seek a federal waiver under ESSA. The committee voted unanimously to recommend the IDOE request a waiver to the graduation requirements under ESSA to allow Indiana to preserve its current diploma types.

The committee’s vote is only a recommendation, and it is unclear if the IDOE will pursue seeking a waiver. Should a waiver not be sought, it will be left to the Indiana General Assembly to come up with solutions in the coming legislative session.