Alternative Graduation Requirements

Pursuant to Education Code section 28.02541, a district may graduate and give a high school diploma under alternative requirements to individuals who entered the ninth grade before the 2011–12 school year and have met all applicable graduation requirements for the year they entered ninth grade, but have not performed satisfactorily on an assessment instrument or part of an assessment instrument required for graduation.

A school district or an open-enrollment charter school may award a high school diploma to an individual who:

1. entered Grade 9 before the 2011-2012 school year;
2. successfully completed the curriculum requirements for high school graduation applicable to the individual when the individual entered Grade 9;
3. has not performed satisfactorily on an assessment instrument or a part of an assessment instrument required for high school graduation, including an alternate assessment instrument offered under TEC, §39.025(c-1);
4. has been administered at least three times the required subject-areas test(s) for which the individual has not performed satisfactorily on the exit-level assessment instrument applicable to the individual when the individual entered Grade 9;
5. and meets the alternative requirements for graduation established by the school district or open enrollment charter school in accordance with subsection (c) of this section:
   1. has met the performance standard on an alternate assessment as specified in §101.4003 of this title (relating to Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Exit-Level Alternate Assessments);
   2. has performed satisfactorily on the applicable subject-area test of a state-approved high school equivalency examination in accordance with §89.43(a)(4) of this title (relating to Eligibility for a Texas Certificate of High School Equivalency); (SAT,ACT, TSI,STAAR)
   3. provides evidence of attainment of an industry-recognized postsecondary license or certification that is included on a Texas Education Agency-approved list of licensures and certifications;
   4. provides evidence of current active duty service in the armed forces or a DD Form 214 indicating honorable or general discharge from the armed forces; or has successfully completed college-level coursework.

Proficiency shall be established through one or more of the following factors:

1. The individual’s grade in each course in the subject areas applicable to the assessments on which the individual has not performed satisfactorily;
2. The individual’s score on each assessment instrument on which the individual has failed to perform satisfactorily;
3. The individual’s participation in offered remediation;
4. The individual’s school attendance rate;
5. The individual’s transcript of course work;
6. The individual’s completion of career and technical education (CTE) program courses;
7. Any other academic, work, or life experience determined to be relevant by the local graduation committee.