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New Bill Would Let More Georgians Earn High School Diplomas

January 30th, 2015

Georgia’s high school class of 2015 will be the first in 20 years that won’t have to take a graduation test.

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Georgia high school students no longer have to pass a graduation test to earn their diplomas. But some former students who had trouble passing the exam have been stuck in limbo. Lawmakers are trying to fix the problem.

Georgia’s high school class of 2015 will be the first in 20 years that won’t have to take a graduation test. The state has phased out the requirement and replaced it with end-of-course tests.

However, students who had trouble passing the exam before that change couldn’t graduate.

A new bill would change that. Prior students who met all of the other graduation requirements, but couldn’t pass the exam, would be able to get a diploma.

State officials say they get thousands of requests each year to waive the test requirement.