H.F. 559 Section 1. Section 259A.2, Code 2015, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 259A.2 Age —— waiver . 3 1. Every applicant must have attained the age of eighteen 4 years, be a nonhigh school graduate, and not currently enrolled 5 in a secondary school. However, an applicant is not eligible 6 for the diploma until after the class in which the applicant 7 was enrolled has graduated. An applicant may request a waiver 8 of the requirements of this subsection from the department of 9 education. The department shall grant such a waiver if the 10 department determines that such a waiver would be in the best 11 interests of the applicant. 12 2. Application shall be made to a testing center approved 13 by the department of education, accompanied by an application 14 fee in an amount prescribed by the department. The test scores 15 shall be forwarded by the scorer of the test to the department. 16 EXPLANATION 17 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 18 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 19 This bill permits an applicant for a high school equivalency 20 diploma to request a waiver from the department of education of 21 the eligibility requirements for a diploma. The bill requires 22 the department to grant such a waiver if the department 23 determines that such a waiver would be in the best interests 24 of the applicant. 25 To be eligible for a high school equivalency diploma under 26 current law, an applicant must have attained the age of 18 27 years, not be a high school graduate, and not be currently 28 enrolled in a secondary school, and an applicant is not 29 eligible for the diploma until after the class in which the 30 applicant was enrolled has graduated. 31 -1- LSB 2450HV (1) 86 je/sc 1/ 1