Mar. 21—Stillwater Public Schools now offers an alternate diploma pathway through its special education services for students with disabilities.

Executive Director of Special Education Melisa Kifer and Director of Special Services Austin Hula presented the new alternate diploma option, called Oklahoma Alternate Academic Portfolio, at the March 12 SPS Board of Education meeting.

“It’s a great plan, and it does give our students a more viable way to earn that diploma while learning — to an alternate curriculum that better suits their needs,” Kifer said.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education rolled out a plan in February 2023 to guide school districts in implementing the alternate diploma.

“First things first, it’s a diploma,” Hula said. “It’s not a certificate of completion, it’s not a certificate of attendance, it’s a true diploma.”

It is designed for those students with the most significant support needs across the state who are assessed according to those alternate academic standards, which are based on the Oklahoma academic standards, he said.

House Bill 1041, authored by Rep. Randy Randleman (R-15) and Senator Brenda Stanley (R-42), required that all schools provide services for students with disabilities who graduate from high school.

Known as the Oklahoma Alternate Assessment Program, the bill stated that schools should start “directing (an) individualized education program team to determine subsequent courses and services.”

The OAAP better aligns Oklahoma’s Special Education Policies and Procedures with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the implementation was required for the 2023-24 school year.

“The alternate diploma was the solution to that misalignment,” Hula said.

SPS has implemented the program, Hula said.

The program does not terminate a student’s right to Free Appropriate Public Education, per the Section 504 regulation.

It also provides the student an opportunity to participate in the Pioneer Pathfinder Academy, a transition program at SPS.

Pioneer Pathfinder Academy offers a community for students with disabilities, ages 18-22, who have completed academic credits and received their diploma. The program provides them with opportunities for internships or jobs in the community, helps them find work studies at SHS and teaches them life skills.

“One of our goals in special ed is to provide an opportunity for every single one of our students to contribute to their community in a way that’s meaningful for them,” Hula said.

Historically, once a student reached graduation and received that standard diploma, they lost access to special education services, Hula said, and this is a way to continue those services.

Even if a family decides their student is ready to leave the Pioneer Pathfinder Academy, but later wants to return, SPS now has a legal way to re-enroll their student if the student has the alternate diploma, Kifer said.

“It did impact our dropout percentage, but it won’t from this point forward,” Kifer said. “And those diplomas will not look any different from anybody else’s.”

The alternate diploma gives K-12 special education teachers the ability to individualize a student’s education.

This also gives special education teachers the ability to provide training for students at an earlier age, which is helpful because some students need a little bit more time to get what they need, Hula said.

In addition, the alternate diploma does not impact a special education student’s ability to participate in the graduation ceremony with their grade level peers, he said.

“Our Pathfinder teachers do a great job of (saying), ‘That’s the next chapter in your book, just like all of your peers that you’ve been in school with since Kindergarten or Pre-K. They’re going to their post-secondary opportunities, you’re coming here, and you’re getting ready to work,'” Hula said.

Hula said next steps include training school staff and parents about the alternate diploma.

“As soon as we start considering what evaluations our students are going to take, we want this to be that part of the conversation, so those families have the most information to make the best decision for them and their loved ones,” Hula said.

Hula said SPS has worked to identify and flag those students working toward an alternate diploma so that the administrative process is smoother and easier for reporting purposes, in addition to currently updating board policy to reflect the alternate diploma track.

To learn more about the Pioneer Pathfinder Academy follow their activities on Facebook.