Kentucky Department of Education

The Commonwealth Diploma: A History and the Future


Invitation/Enrollment to Program    October/November

Email, letters, and forms go out to districts and private schools in mid October of each year to invite district high school(s) to participate in the Commonwealth Diploma Program. This program promotes academic excellence and gives senior students the opportunity to be recognized for their exceptional academic efforts.

If school(s) plan to participate in the current year’s program, they need to send the forms designating either a school or district level Commonwealth Diploma Coordinator. The named coordinator will receive all future correspondence regarding the program.  Please complete the form even if your district is not participating in the Commonwealth Diploma Program so that our records will be accurate. The designated coordinator should carefully read and complete the necessary forms (Candidates List and Student Checklist) and return all forms by mid November (see timeline for exact dates).

Verification of Information    November - March

The Department of Education Program Coordinator collects the forms from each district, checks that all forms are submitted and complete, checks to see if students have met the requirements for the diploma, and enters data into a database. If there are questions, the KDE will contact the designated Commonwealth Diploma Coordinator for your district or school.

In February, the Department of Education Coordinator will e-mail the Commonwealth Diploma Coordinators their candidates list to verify that the candidates are still eligible and that all students’ checklists have been received. Verification from the district should be sent by mid March (again, see timeline for exact dates).

Requirements

Please note future changes in the Pre-College Curriculum Requirements for 2006-2007 section under the Commonwealth Diploma Program 704 KAR 3:340, the Governing Regulation.  Students must meet these requirements in order to be eligible for a Commonwealth Diploma.

·       Successful completion of at least 22 approved units of credit, including all the minimum unit requirements for high school graduation set forth in 704 KAR 3:305 or as specified by the local board of education.

·       Successful completion of all minimum requirements of the pre-college preparation curriculum

·       Successful completion (i.e., receiving a grade of “C” or its equivalent) in 4 AP/IB courses in the areas of English, Science/Mathematics, Foreign Language, and Elective (to see a list of courses that fall in these areas see the Student Checklist).

·       Successful completion of 3 AP/IB exams in at least 3 of the four required AP/IB course areas, English, Science/Mathematics, Foreign Language, and Elective.

Note the following:

·       704 KAR 3:340 requires that the courses must contain “essential content” and meet the standards described in the Advanced Placement (AP) Program Course Description Booklets of the College Entrance Examination Board.

·       Substitution of other courses is not permitted (i.e., neither “advanced level,” nor dual credit courses meet this requirement.)

Diplomas    April/May

When verifications from the district are received in March, the Department of Education Coordinator will make adjustments to the database, merge data with diplomas for printing, and prepare diplomas for the Commonwealth State Seals.  Diplomas are usually mailed out the last week in April and the first week in May.

Reimbursements   August - December

Around the third week of August the Department of Education sends the Commonwealth Diploma Coordinators reimbursement forms for the seniors from the previous school year that received a Commonwealth Diploma. These students are eligible to receive reimbursement for 3 of their AP/IB exams if they achieved a minimum composite score of 8 on their AP/IB exams in 3 of the following areas: English, Science/Mathematics, Foreign Language, and Elective.

Please note the following information must be submitted to KDE to process the reimbursements:

·       Public District Reimbursement Form

·       Public Student Reimbursement Form

·       Copies of the students’ AP/IB test score reports from the College Board.  

These forms need to be submitted by mid October (see timeline for exact dates).

The Department of Education Program Coordinator collects the forms from each district/school, checks to see if students have met the requirements, that all forms are submitted and complete, checks the calculations, enters reimbursement data, does the necessary paperwork and submits that information to finance for payment by mid November.

Payments are usually sent to the school districts by the end of December. Since the payments are sent directly to the districts, schools will need to contact their district office to see if the payment has been received.

Please mail or e-mail all forms to the Kentucky Department of Education Commonwealth Diploma Coordinator to:

Student Reimbursement Form (Public Schools)

AP Examination Voucher for Reimbursement (Public Schools)

Cost of College Board Tests