Section 3313.617 | Adoption of policy for students at risk of not qualifying for high school diploma.
(A) A person who meets all of the following criteria shall be permitted to take the tests of general educational development:
(1) The person is at least eighteen years of age.
(2) The person is officially withdrawn from school.
(3) The person has not received a high school diploma or honors diploma awarded under section 3313.61, 3313.611, 3313.612, or 3325.08 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1) A person who is at least sixteen years of age but less than eighteen years of age may apply to the department of education to take the tests of general educational development, so long as the person has not received a high school diploma or honors diploma awarded under section 3313.61, 3313.611, 3313.612, or 3325.08 of the Revised Code.
In order to apply, the person shall submit, along with the application, both of the following:
(a) Written approval from the person's parent or guardian or a court official;
(b) The person's official high school transcript. The transcript shall include, at a minimum, the previous twelve months of the person's enrollment in a program approved to grant a high school diploma.
(2) The department shall determine whether to approve or deny applications submitted under division (B)(1) of this section. The department shall approve a person's application only if the person meets both of the following criteria:
(a) The person has been continuously enrolled in a program approved to grant a high school diploma for at least one semester and attained an attendance rate of at least seventy-five per cent during that semester.
(b) The person shows good cause, as determined by rules adopted by the department pursuant to division (B)(3) of this section.
(3) The state board of education shall adopt rules, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, for the administration of division (B) of this section. The rules shall include what qualifies as good cause for purposes of that division.
(C) If a person's application is approved under division (B) of this section, that person shall remain enrolled in school and maintain an attendance rate of at least seventy-five per cent until either:
(1) The person passes all required sections of the tests of general educational development; or
(2) The person is eighteen years of age.
(D) Notwithstanding divisions (A) and (B) of this section, a person who meets any of the following criteria shall be permitted to take the tests of general educational development:
(1) The person has a bodily or mental condition as described in division (A)(1) of section 3321.04 of the Revised Code that does not permit attendance at school.
(2) The person is receiving or has completed the final year of instruction at home as authorized under division (A)(2) of section 3321.04 of the Revised Code.
(3) The person is moving or has moved out of state after previously attending school in the state.
(4) The person has an extreme, extenuating circumstance, as determined by the department, that requires the person to withdraw from school.
(E) For the purpose of calculating graduation rates for the school district and building report cards under section 3302.03 of the Revised Code, the department shall count any person who officially withdraws from school to take the tests of general educational development under this section as a dropout from the district or school in which the person was last enrolled.
(F) If a person takes the tests of general educational development and fails to attain the scores required to earn a high school equivalence diploma, as defined in section 5107.40 of the Revised Code, on the entire battery of tests, that person shall be required to retake only the specific test on which the person did not attain a passing score in order to earn a high school equivalence diploma. If a person retakes a specific test, that person shall be responsible only for the cost of that test and not for the cost of the entire battery of tests, unless that person is retaking the entire battery.
Available Versions of this Section
- September 17, 2014 – House Bill 487, House Bill 483 - 130th General Assembly [ View September 17, 2014 Version ]
- September 29, 2015 – House Bill 64 - 131st General Assembly [ View September 29, 2015 Version ]
- October 17, 2019 – Enacted by House Bill 166 - 133rd General Assembly [ View October 17, 2019 Version ]