“The IEP diploma is awarded to certain students with disabilities who do not meet the State standards for a regular high school diploma. However, the IEP diploma is not accepted by most colleges, the military, or even some vocational training programs. In our experience, students and their caretakers do not fully understand these implications,” said Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York. “This confusion can have devastating results for students with disabilities and contributes to the large number of these students who leave school without a regular high school diploma.”

Timed to coincide with the official last day of classes for the New York City public school system, a letter was sent to Rebecca Cort, Deputy Commissioner at the New York State Education Department. “Creating a more accurate name for the IEP diploma is a small change that can make a big difference,” said Bruce Carmel, Ph.D., Deputy Executive Director of Educational Services of Turning Point.