Grade 15: Post-Graduate
- Melissa Gilman
Some students remain in school until the age of 21, at which time they age out of the public school system. Often these are special education students who require additional supports despite completing their secondary education. Sometimes these students remain as 12th graders and do not complete school or graduate until they age out of the program. Other times, students will complete high school along with their peers, but will return to the high school after graduation for additional services until the age of 21.
When to use grade 12 (senior) versus grade 15 (post-grad)
The difference between reporting a returning student as grade 12 or grade 15 (post-graduate) comes down to the student’s school completion status. In short, if the student receives a diploma or other completion certificate, that student must be reported as grade 15 in subsequent school years. However, if the student does NOT receive a diploma or other completion certificate, then the student would remain grade 12 until he/she has aged out of school.
If a student has met the district’s requirements to complete high school, they should be reported as a school completer and then subsequently reported as grade 15. A student who has met all the requirements to be considered a completer should not be kept on the rolls as a 12th grader.
EXAMPLE 1: Taylor was a member of the class of 2019. She walked with her fellow classmates at graduation in June 2019 and received a standard diploma. However, Taylor is a special education student and will remain with the district until the age of 21, even though she has already graduated high school.
In their 2019 EOY, the district will report Taylor as promoted indicator 3, meaning she completed high school. Her diploma type would be 1 (standard diploma) and her post-graduate plans would be 15 (indicating the student will be returning to high school for post-graduate work).
In their 2020 BOY and all subsequent enrollment submissions, Taylor’s resident district will report Taylor as grade 15.
EXAMPLE 2: Clara was also a member of the class of 2019, but she did not walk at graduation and did not receive a diploma or other completion certificate. Clara, too, will remain with the district until she ages out at 21.
In the district’s 2019 EOY, Clara’s district would report Clara as promoted indicator 1 (meaning the student has not completed school and is not promoted to the next grade level).
In the district’s 2020 BOY, Clara would again be reported as grade 12. She will continue to be reported as grade 12 in all subsequent enrollment submissions until she either completes high school with a diploma or other completion certificate, or ages out of the public school system.
If Clara completes school before aging out of the program, but stays with the district until the age of 21, she would be reported as grade 15 in all subsequent enrollment reports after her school completion.
Are Grade 15 students eligible for adequacy aid?
NO.
Grade 15 students have completed their public school education. They are not eligible for adequacy or differentiated aid, and they do not qualify for charter school tuition.
Specifics of Grade 15
Once a student has been reported as grade 15, they cannot be reported as any other grade level. Grade 15 means the student has completed school, thus it is inappropriate to return the student to a lower grade level for any reason.
Once a student has been reported as a school completer (promoted indicator 3), they can only be reported as Grade 15 in future submissions. If a student has completed high school (as indicated by a promoted indicator 3 in their enrollment history), they are, by definition, a post-graduate student. Post-graduates must be reported as grade 15.
Grade 15 students do not require an original graduation year. As post-graduate students, they have, by definition, already graduated. It is unnecessary to continue tracking them as members of their original graduation cohort once they have completed school.
Students reported as grade 15 must be withdrawn at the end of every school year. This way, if the student ages out or moves away over the summer, they do not need to be included in the district’s subsequent i4see submissions.
Grade 15 students must always be withdrawn in the EOY Enrollment submission as follows:
Exit date: Last day of the school year
If the student ages out of school during the course of the school year, they must be exited on or near the date of their 21st birthday instead of on the last day of school
Exit code must be W9
The promoted indicator must be left blank