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Partly Cloudy with Haze Dispute over diplomas and disabled students
Parents slam program that provides certificates to kids
Scores of angry parents of high school students with disabilities gathered last week to lambast a state government and education panel over a new program that denies the teens a high school diploma.
After the meeting, which was attended by over 160 people, Denise Baird, a parent from Baldwin, said, “Last night’s forum was such an important step in correcting the diploma situation and I urge their [education officials’] swift action to rectify this inequity immediately.”
Baird, whose daughter is an 11th grader at Oceanside High School, added, “They’ve thrown Common Core into the Regents. She wasn’t brought up with Common Core, so we have to keep our fingers crossed that all of her hard work will pay off. She needs that diploma.”
At issue is a decision by the state Education Department to replace diplomas for disabled students with the Career Development and Occupational Studies Commencement Credential. The department previously offered disabled students Regents Competency Tests, in place of the standard Regents exam, which helped compensate for their disabilities and led to graduation and a high school diploma. But in 2011 the competency tests were phased out and diplomas were replaced with the CDOS certificate.
James DeLorenzo, the state’s assistant commissioner for special education, said the changes were made to bring graduation requirements for students with disabilities more in line with the Common Core education program currently in use. He said the certificate shows the students completed the coursework, but they don’t receive a diploma.
The state currently provides three graduation options for children with learning disabilities: passing five Regents tests with a score of 55 or better; the 4+1 option, which requires passing four Regents with a 65 and one with at least a 45; or, the CDOS. This means that students who cannot pass the five required Regents exams or the 4 + 1 option have no way to obtain a high school diploma.
The CDOS was introduced as an alternative learning path for high school students; however, colleges, the military, and many employers that require a high school diploma do not recognize the new credential.
