High school equivalency certificate.

WORKING DRAFT

ORIGINAL HOUSE
BILL

NO.
0054

ENROLLED ACT NO. 6, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SIXTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2013 GENERAL SESSION

AN ACT relating to
high school graduation
requirements
; replacing the general educational development (GE
D
) equivalency diploma with the high school equivalency certificate; imposing duties on the Wyoming community college commission; granting rulemaking authority;
and providing for effective date
s
.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section

1.

W.S.

21
‑
16
‑
1301(a)(xvi), 21
‑
16
‑
1308(b)
(intro),
(iv)
(intro), (A), (C)(intro)
and
(c)(ii) and 21
‑
18
‑
105(c)(ii) are amended to read:

21
‑
16
‑
1301.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this article:

(xvi)

"Semester hour" means each nonremedial semester hour attempted for credit toward a degree or certificate, excluding any semester hour attempted before earning a high school diploma or a
general educational development (GED)
high school

equivalency
diploma

certificate
;

21
‑
16
‑
1308.

Administration; rules and regulations.

(b)

The department shall, in consultation with University of Wyoming and community college admissions officers
, the Wyoming community college commission
and financial aid officers and school districts, promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement this article, including:

(iv)

Criteria and procedures under which students who receive a
general educational development
(GED)
high school

equivalency
diploma

certificate
can qualify for scholarships under this article. A student receiving a
GED

high school equivalency certificate
shall:

(A)

Receive the
GED

certificate
and make application for the initial scholarship no later than two (2) years after and no sooner than the graduation date of the student's high school class, unless ordered by a court to complete the requirements for
a GED

the certificate
prior to that graduation date or for other good cause shown as determined by the department. The student shall have attended an eligible high school prior to receiving his
GED

certificate
and shall have received his
GED

certificate
while residing in Wyoming;

(C)

If otherwise eligible, be eligible for a scholarship
as follows:

at scores under alternative instruments included within the high school equivalency certificate, as set by rule and regulation of the Wyoming community college commission, which are comparable to
GPA requirements specified
under W.S. 21
‑
16
‑
1304 corresponding to the applicable Hathaway opportunity, performance and honor scholarship or under W.S. 21
‑
16
‑
1305
corresponding
to the Hathaway provisional opportunity scholarship.

(c)

The department shall establish annual reporting procedures for purposes of policy analysis and program evaluation and providing accurate data to the legislature and governor relative to the program's impact on the state and on students. In developing the annual reporting procedure the department shall consult with the
University
of
Wyoming
and community college financial aid officers and registrars or their designees. It is the intention of the legislature that the reporting system and the requirements thereof shall be applicable to all recipients of scholarships under this article. Compliance with this
section shall be made a condition of receiving a scholarship under this article. For any student attending more than one (1) eligible institution, the home institution shall be responsible for data reporting for that student, and any other eligible institution shall cooperate as necessary with the home institution to fulfill that duty. The reporting system shall include the following information:

(ii)

Scholarships by students as they progress from semester to semester or other equivalent periods of time as may be applicable once enrolled at an eligible institution. The data shall be reported by institution attended, by the instructional program, and by scholarship category and shall include the percent of students losing scholarship eligibility due to not earning the minimum number of credit hours, the percent of students losing scholarship eligibility due to not having the required cumulative grade point average, the percent of students losing scholarship eligibility for failing to make satisfactory academic progress and the percentage of students losing scholarship eligibility for failing to enroll. The same information shall also be reported by categories showing those students qualifying through WORKKEYS scores and
GED
scores

on high school equivalency certification,
and by the group of students who attended a home-based educational program and did not graduate from an eligible high school;

21
‑
18
‑
105.

Budget authority.

(c)

In addition to subsection (a) of this section, the community college commission shall administer and shall include in its budget request funding for the following programs:

(ii)

General educational development

High school equivalency certification
program.

Section 2.

W.S. 21
‑
16
‑
1308(b)(iv)(C)(I)
through
(III) is repealed.

Section 3.

T
he Wyoming community college commission shall promulgate rules and regulations establishing alternative instruments comprising the state-authorized examination
for determining
certification of the equivalency of a high school diploma

in sufficient time for use in the 2013
‑
2014 academic year
. In addition, commission rules and regulations shall set qualifying scores for the different Hathaway scholarships as required under
W.S. 21
‑
16
‑
1308(b)(iv)(C), as amended by section 1 of this act.

Section
4
.

(a)

Except as
provided by subsection (b) of this section, t
his act is effective July 1, 2013.

(b)

Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, section 3 of this act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(END)

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the House.

Chief Clerk

1