Providers ask House Education Committee to fix diploma gap from program transition

House Education Committee members heard Jan. 22 from adult education providers who asked lawmakers to add temporary language to the state’s Budget Adjustment Act to allow about 100 students caught in a program transition to receive high school diplomas.

The request came from Michelle Post, executive director of Northeast Freedom Learning Services, and Bridal Kravitz, director of outreach and workforce development at Central Vermont Adult Education. They said a short sunset period for the state’s former high school completion program, combined with a delayed rollout of the new Adult Diploma Program (ADP), left a cohort of students who had signed completion plans but have not yet received diplomas.

The providers described two parts to the committee’s BAA decision: a one-time financial adjustment to pay providers for higher-than-estimated student counts in fiscal 2024, and a proposed ‘‘notwithstanding’’ clause to let students with previously signed high school completion contracts complete and receive diplomas even if ADP is in effect. They asked the committee to instruct legislative counsel to draft the clause and to include a sunset date for the provision.

"There were some students that didn't quite get that finish and the hope was that the ADP would be built up quickly," Michelle Post said, describing an "area of limbo" affecting approximately 100 students statewide who completed or nearly completed requirements under the old program. Post said some students have time-sensitive outcomes tied to a diploma — for example, admission to a university or eligibility for an employer training program.

Bridal Kravitz said the budget adjustment’s fiscal portion is a one-time fix tied to an initial undercount of students used when the new funding formula was set. "That really makes us a one-time ask, so we do ask that you support that," Kravitz told the committee, explaining that moving forward the formula will be based on a two-year average (FY23–FY24) and should stabilize funding.

Committee members asked for details about how many students are ready to receive diplomas and how long the delay might last. Committee member Josh asked whether most students were essentially ready to graduate; Post replied that "close to 100% of those 100 students" were expected to be finalized if allowed to complete under their original plans.

Committee members and presenters discussed timing for the ADP pilot, which providers said was expected to begin around Feb. 1, 2025, but would not be fully implemented for several weeks after rollout. Providers warned that immediately switching students into new ADP plans could force unnecessary plan revisions and delay diplomas.

The committee chair said the panel would ask legislative counsel to work on language and recommended including a sunset date. "Unless I hear any objections from the committee ... I'll have our legislative council work with this language ... and then we will put that as a recommendation in the BAA," the chair said during the meeting; the chair proposed a sunset of July 1, 2025 as "perfectly appropriate."

Providers also described ongoing work to align ADP proficiency-based graduation requirements across districts so adult learners face consistent standards regardless of county. Michelle Post said the Agency of Education and local providers will form a working group to develop one set of proficiency-based graduation requirements for adult students.

This discussion did not produce a formal recorded vote. Committee members directed legislative staff to draft the requested notwithstanding language and to include a sunset date, and they signaled intent to recommend the language in the BAA.