GAINESVILLE - So far, 28 former Hall County students have petitioned the school district for high school diplomas under House Bill 91, signed into law during this last legislative session.
Hall County School Superintendent Will Schofield said earlier this week he's expecting many more former students to petition for the diplomas, but he's not sure of an exact number.
"It could be as many as 50, it could be 1,000 of these people out there in Hall County alone - we don't have a good handle on just how many there are, but it's [the number] going to grow and the number will be substantial," said Schofield.
The measure, sponsored in the 2015 session by House Education Committee Chairman Brooks Coleman of Duluth, allows students who failed a portion of the Georgia High School Graduation Test, but otherwise performed well enough to graduate, to seek their high school diplomas.
An estimated 8,000 Georgia students were denied diplomas since 1991 because they failed part of the test.
Schofield said despite the additional work for school counselors, the measure will make a huge difference for students who are having trouble getting ahead without the diploma in hand.
"One of the toughest jobs I've had over the past 15 years is talking to individuals who've come into my office, sent me an email, called me on the phone - anywhere between the age of 19 and 35 - that have said 'Mr. Schofield, I finished all of my coursework, I had a good grade point average, but I couldn't pass one section of the test and I'm running into a slammed door,'" said Schofield.
He said those students are being overlooked for further education opportunities, for jobs, for military service.
Schofield said school system personnel are looking at records from past years and working to identify students who might be eligible to petition for their diplomas.
A petition form is available on the Hall County Schools web site.
