5.23.2012 | Gotham Schools | “If you are going to raise standards, you also have to raise the quality of institutions,” said Christian Villenas, policy analyst for Advocates for Children. As part of the Coalition for Multiple Pathways to Graduation, Advocates for Children is circulating a petition to postpone the elimination of the local diploma. The organization has been a leader in lobbying the state to postpone the elimination until other pathways to graduation are in place.

Earlier this year, the state extended the local diploma for special education students. But this, too, poses a problem for advocates. “By keeping the local diploma for students with just disabilities, in essence you’re creating a second class of students,” Villenas said. Read article