Bd. of Educ. v. M.N., Nos. A-16, 088378, 2024 N.J. LEXIS 793 (Aug. 7, 2024)
Question: Is a student with disabilities who received a State-issued diploma based on passing the General Education Development test (GED) entitled to re-enroll in his local public high school to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)?
Short Answer: Yes, a student who receives a State-issued diploma after passing a GED test remains entitled to receive a FAPE under the IDEA. Clients need to be mindful that students who are classified should not be advised they are no longer entitled to services until they receive a REGULAR HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA
Background & Procedural History: When he was fifteen years old, A.D. began attending Sparta High School. He had been designated as having a disability under the IDEA, and Sparta accepted his individualized education program from his previous school. In January 2019, A.D. was informed he was in danger of failing several classes. After a period of home instruction in March 2019, A.D.’s parents withdrew him from Sparta. A.D. then took the GED and passed, and he received a State-issued high school diploma in April 2019. That same month, A.D. re-enrolled at Sparta High. After periods of home instruction, in-person attendance, and further withdrawals from school, A.D.’s mother, M.N., tried to re-enroll A.D. in May 2021. A.D. was eighteen years old at the time. Sparta denied the request because A.D. had received a State-issued high school diploma.
M.N. requested a due process hearing with the New Jersey Department of Education (DOE).The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) determined that the State-issued diploma A.D. received was a “regular high school diploma” that was “fully aligned with State standards” under the law, thus, A.D. was no longer entitled to a FAPE. The Appellate Division affirmed. This Court granted M.N.’s petition for certification, limited to the issue of whether a State-issued high school diploma based on passing the GED is a “regular high school diploma”.
Legal Analysis: Under the IDEA’s regulations, “[t]he obligation to make FAPE available to all children with disabilities does not apply with respect to …[c]hildren with disabilities who have graduated from high school with a regular high school diploma.” 34 C.F.R. § 300.102(a)(3)(i). Students with disabilities “who have graduated from high school but have not been awarded a regular high school diploma” remain eligible to receive a FAPE. Id. at (ii). The term “regular high school diploma” “means the standard high school diploma awarded to the preponderance of students in the State that is fully aligned with State standards, or a higher diploma”. Id. at (iv).
New Jersey recognizes two types of high school diplomas: State-endorsed diplomas and State-issued diplomas. The DOE defines a “State-endorsed diploma” as “a locally-issued document awarded to an exiting student indicating successful completion of high school graduation requirements.” N.J.A.C. 6A:8-1.3. State-issued diplomas, on the other hand, are issued by the Commissioner, and they do not require students to meet the same graduation requirements. State-issued diplomas are awarded by the DOE upon “[d]emonstration of the appropriate level of academic competency,” including by “passage of the Tests of General Educational Development (GED) of the American Council on Education.” N.J.S.A. 18A:50A-1. DOE regulations define a “State-issued high school diploma” as “a high school diploma provided by the [DOE] to persons 16 years of age or older and no longer enrolled in school to document the attainment of academic skills and knowledge equivalent to a high school education.” N.J.A.C. 6A:20-1.2. The Court recognized the deliberate choice of the Legislature and the DOE, both in statute and regulation, to distinguish between State-issued and State-endorsed diplomas. Finally, the Court concluded, the State-endorsed diploma is “the standard high school diploma awarded to the preponderance of students in the State that is fully aligned with State standards.” See 34 C.F.R. § 300.102(a)(3)(iv).