The Oregon modified high school diploma, also known as the OAR Modified Diploma, is a document that is given to students who have "a documented history of the inability to maintain grade level achievement due to significant learning and instructional barriers...or a documented history of a medical condition that creates a barrier to achievement."
It was given following a 2007 Oregon law, and after some misuse was termed "diploma lite" by The Oregonian
''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...
.
Availability
Modified high school diplomas are awarded to students with disabilities who cannot pass regular academic classes even with special education accommodations and support. Even though students who earn modified high school diplomas take fewer academic classes in high school, they are eligible for federal financial aid in college but probably will not be accepted into the military.
Dropout loophole
In 2009, five Portland, Oregon, Portland-area high schools, Marshall
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, were found to have used a loophole in the modified diploma program where the schools called non-disabled students disabled in order to award them a modified high school diploma, averaging one modified diploma per eight graduates.
Timeline
The parent of the disabled student will be notified if the student is eligible for a modified high school diploma when the student is in the sixth grade. Between the completion of 6th grade and two years before the student's anticipated completion of high school (age 21 for severely developmentally disabled people in Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
), the parents must choose if they wish to pursue the diploma. After the 8th grade, the student's progress is reviewed annually by their parents and school team.
See also
* Oregon Diploma
The Oregon Diploma is part of the public high school graduation requirements in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the end result of a redesign effort of Oregon's K-12 education system that focused on graduation requirements. The Oregon Diploma requir ...
References
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Education in Oregon
Special education in the United States