WPBF

The Florida Board of Education recently voted to phase out certificates of completion for students with disabilities at K-12 schools. Those certificates were given to students who couldn’t complete the coursework needed for a diploma. Advocates said that this gives students the chance to go down one of several pathways the state offers to earn a standard high school diploma, opening up even more employment opportunities. “It really is a useless piece of paper, to tell the truth. I mean all a certificate of completion says is that you showed up to school,” Sue Davis-Killian, the director of education for Gold Coast Down Syndrome Organization, said. Davis-Killian said in her 25 years on the job, none of their students have received a certificate of completion. “For our students with Down syndrome, they have what’s called the standard diploma via Access Points. And Access Points are simply the alternative curriculum for students with significant cognitive disabilities,” Davis-Killian said. The Florida Board of Education voted to amend the Florida Administrative Code last week following a new state law sunsetting the certificates that went into effect on July 1.