The State Education Department (SED) has announced a series of dates to host public policy discussion groups on the continuation or modification of policy relating to the individualized education program (IEP) diploma.

Among the issues to explore regarding the IEP diploma are:

• Data show a greater than expected percent of students with disabilities exiting school with IEP diplomas.
• A decision by the Committee on Special Education (CSE) that the student is expected to achieve an IEP diploma often results in lower expectations for that student.
• Too often, the decision about the type of diploma the student is expected to achieve is made earlier than necessary in the student's educational career. Once this decision is made, such students may not be enrolled in courses that would lead to high school credits necessary for graduation with a regular high school diploma. 
• Students and parents are often not aware that an IEP diploma is not considered a regular high school diploma.
• Without a high school diploma, a student's access to postsecondary training, education and employment options is limited.
• The IEP diploma identifies the individual as a student with a disability, raising concerns about the identification of an individual with a disability in the student's transcript. 

The public discussion sessions will be held from 3 – 5 p.m. in New York City (Wednesday, 1/14/2009), Albany (Tuesday, 1/20/2009), Rochester (Thursday, 1/22/2009) and Long Island (Thursday, 2/12/2009). Pre-registration is required.

The SED announcement with registration information and discussion questions can be found at: http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/policy/iepdiplomadiscuss.htm

For more information on this issue, please contact David Rothfuss of NYSUT Research & Educational Services at (800) 342-9810 x6651.