By DR. LARRY MOSES
No one asked me but… This is a public service announcement. The first part of this column deals with GUIDANCE MEMORANDUM #17-27 TO: School District Superintendents. FROM: Steve Canavero Ph.D. Superintendent of Public Instruction. SUBJECT: Guidance on the sun setting of the High School Proficiency Exam(s). The following is a direct quote from the memorandum.
“Due to the HSPE (High School Proficiency Exam) is no longer being a requirement under the Nevada Revised Statutes and AB 7’s removal of the requirement to pass the End of Course Exams for receipt of a Standard High School and Adult Standard Diploma a student in Nevada is no longer required to pass the High School Proficiency Examination to receive a standard high school or adult standard diploma.
“Any student denied a standard high school or adult standard diploma solely because the student did not satisfy any existing requirement to pass the High School Proficiency Examinations will be issued a standard high school or adult standard diploma if: (1) The student submits to the school district or charter school in which the student was last enrolled in high school a written request for a determination of whether the student, notwithstanding the failure of the student to satisfy any existing requirement to pass the High School Proficiency Examinations, otherwise satisfied any existing requirements to receive a standard high school or adult standard diploma; and (2) After reviewing the transcript of the student and any other relevant documentation, the school district or charter school determines that, notwithstanding the failure of the student to satisfy any existing requirement to pass the High School Proficiency Examinations, the student otherwise satisfied existing requirements to receive a standard high school or adult standard diploma.”
If you have access to a computer or a smart phone, the process for completing this request for a high school diploma is fairly simple. Go to https://transcripts.ccsd.net/. Under “Who is making the record request?” select “I am an individual.” Complete the required fields of the request form. In the “Records Requested” section, select “Proficiency Exemption Request.” After completing the information required click “Submit Records Request” at the bottom of the page.
If you would have graduated between the years of 2001-16, it could take up to 90 days to complete the process, 1982-2000 could take up to 120 days.
If you attended Adult Education to complete your high school credits but failed to pass proficiency tests you should do the following: Visit the Adult education office and place a written request for a diploma. They will provide a form for you to complete. You should then wait for a phone call from Adult Education to confirm your graduation. You may contact Adult Education at 702-799-8650 to receive a copy of the form.
If it is determined that you indeed qualify for a diploma, you will receive one copy of transcripts showing completion of requirement for graduation and a CCSD diploma date Oct. 13, 2017.
I would encourage all students who were denied graduation due to failure to pass proficiency tests to get the process started as soon as possible. Parents, if your child has left the valley, they may not be aware of the fact that the burden of not having a high school diploma can be lifted. You too can ask for this action to be taken.
When I spoke to Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky, he indicated that the records beyond 2008 are not computerized making it a long difficult process to determine who qualifies for the delayed diploma. Rather than search all of the records, the district needs to wait for the request.
I would think that the schools would know who these ex-students are and could help narrow the search down. I would encourage all of the schools in Clark County to take on the responsibility of taking the steps necessary to assure their students receive the long-delayed diploma. The sooner we can lift the burden of not having a high school diploma from our citizens the better it is for our local community as well as the nation.
No one asked me but… Enough for public service, let’s go back to my regular nonsense. I was sorting through some old files I have accumulated over the years. Some I threw away and some I refiled. Here is one that I kept.
President Harry Truman left the White House in 1952. After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and his wife Bessie left Washington, D.C. in his personal automobile. No secret service agents accompanied him to his home in Independence, Missouri.
The house they moved into was the one he inherited from his wife’s mother. His income was a $13,507.12 U.S. Army pension. This was a good income for the day, as the average household income was $2,973.
He was later awarded a $25,000 dollar a year pension by congress. When he was offered a number of lucrative corporate positions, he turned them down stating “You don’t want me. You want the office of the President and that doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to the American people and that is not for sale.”
On his 87th birthday, the Congress of the United States was preparing to award Harry the Medal of Honor. He refused it stating: “I don’t consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise.”
Contrast this with ex-President Barack Obama who charges $400,000 per speaking engagement and was reportedly paid $1.2 million for a series of speeches to a number of major Wall Street firms. The average American income for 2017 is $73,298.
Former President Bill Clinton earned more than $153 million in paid speeches since 2001.
These politicians apparently have no qualms about selling the Presidency. Does anyone really believe either of these ex-Presidents would be in demand as a speaker if they had not had been President. Those hiring don’t want Barack Obama or Bill Clinton, they want the Presidency of the United States.
Apparently, Truman was wrong, the office is for sale. However, Harry Truman was not wrong when he stated: “ My choices early in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there’s hardly any difference.”
Thought of the week… A BMW can’t take you as far as a diploma.
– Joyce Meyer
