Eligibility for a free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) often turns on whether a student has graduated from high school with a “regular high school diploma.” IDEA defines FAPE to include “preschool, elementary school, or secondary school education in the State involved.” 20 U.S.C. § 1401(9)(C). The IDEA regulations provide that the obligation to provide FAPE does not extend to children with disabilities who have graduated from high school with a regular high school diploma, but that this limitation does not apply to students who have graduated without being awarded such a diploma. The regulations define a regular high school diploma as the standard diploma awarded to the preponderance of students in the state and fully aligned with state standards, or a higher diploma, and expressly exclude recognized equivalents such as a General Educational Development (GED) credential, certificate of completion, or certificate of attendance. 34 C.F.R. § 300.102(a)(3). As this framework suggests, disputes over IDEA eligibility tied to high school diplomas require close attention to both federal definitions and state law distinctions.
In Board of Education of the Township of Sparta v. M.N., 318 A.3d 670, 124 LRP 29999 (N.J. Aug. 7, 2024), the Supreme Court of New Jersey unanimously held that a state-issued high school diploma earned through passage of the GED test does not disqualify a student with a disability from re-enrolling in public high school to receive FAPE. The case involved a student with an individualized education program (IEP) who withdrew from public high school, passed the GED test, and received a state-issued high school diploma. He later re-enrolled in public high school, but the district informed the parents that services would be discontinued because the student had obtained a high school diploma. The parents objected, and although services initially continued, attendance and completion issues arose. After another withdrawal and a subsequent attempt to re-enroll that the district denied, the parent filed a due process petition.
An administrative law judge (ALJ) concluded that the state-issued diploma constituted a regular high school diploma fully aligned with state standards, rendering the student ineligible for FAPE. The State Commissioner of Education agreed, and the Appellate Division affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed.
Relying on 34 C.F.R. § 300.102(a)(3), the court explained that New Jersey law recognizes both state-endorsed diplomas and state-issued diplomas. State-issued diplomas are awarded based on demonstrations of academic competency, which may include passage of the GED, while state-endorsed diplomas are earned by completing local graduation requirements. The district argued that the student’s diploma was not merely a GED and therefore qualified as a regular high school diploma under the regulation because it was aligned with state standards. The court rejected that position, emphasizing that the regulation defines a regular high school diploma as the standard diploma awarded to the preponderance of students in the state.
Citing statewide data, the court noted that more than ninety percent of students who entered high school four years earlier earned a state-endorsed diploma by completing local graduation requirements, making that credential the standard diploma awarded to the vast majority of students. By contrast, a state-issued diploma earned through a GED-based pathway did not meet that definition. The court also rejected the argument that a 2017 amendment to the regulation altered its plain meaning. It relied on state law clarifying that passage of the GED does not result in a state-endorsed diploma, and on regulatory history distinguishing state-issued diplomas from state-endorsed diplomas. An earlier administrative decision to the contrary was found to have been superseded by later regulatory changes.
The decision reflects that whether a student remains eligible for FAPE after receiving a high school credential depends not on the label attached to the diploma, but on whether it is the standard diploma awarded to the preponderance of students under state law, as contemplated by IDEA and its implementing regulations.