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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | October 5, 2015 12:53 PM |
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| From: | Representative Kathy L. Rapp |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | High School Graduation Requirements for Students with IEPs |
| I am preparing to introduce legislation that will amend the Public School Code to ensure that the parent or guardian of a student with an individualized education program (IEP) must agree in writing to the high school graduation requirements that are in place for that student. An IEP is a document that sets forth the educational program, services, and requirements for a special education student. The document is developed by an IEP team that includes educators, special education service providers, and the student’s parent or guardian. Under current law, an IEP may set forth graduation requirements for a special education student that differ from those that apply to regular education students. For example, the IEP team may determine that a special education student is not required to achieve a certain level of performance on a Keystone Examination as a condition to graduation. Conversely, the IEP team may determine that the special education student must satisfy the standard school district requirements in order to graduate. My legislation will provide that the IEP for a high school student must require the signature of the student’s parent or guardian indicating agreement to either of the following as the high school graduation requirements for the student: (1) the transition goals included in the student’s IEP as determined by the student’s IEP team; or (2) the high school graduation requirements established by the school district in which the student is enrolled, which must include the graduation requirements established by the State Board of Education. In this way, my bill will help to ensure that parents and guardians of special education students make an informed decision regarding the standards their children must satisfy in order to graduate from high school. My legislation will provide further that the high school diploma awarded to a student with an IEP will not distinguish as to whether the student satisfied the transition goals set forth in the student’s IEP or the school district’s standard graduation requirements. Thank you for your consideration. |
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| View Attachment | ||
Introduced as HB1763