Relates to college admission and financial aid for students who have received a high school diploma from certain online high school programs

• Democratic2

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Toby Ann Stavisky says this is needed

Online high schools, historically referred to as correspondence schools, have become more and more common as society continues to embrace tech- nology and distance options for all aspects of life. These programs are accredited through national accreditation agencies recognized by the United States Department of Education and ultimately overseen by Jobs Corp a branch of the United States Department of Labor. These online high school programs partner with Jobs Corp centers to enable students to tailor their curriculum towards a future career. Through these Job Corp relationships students can learn the base curric- ulum required for a high school diploma in a way that is relevant to them and lead to future employment. Students who complete these programs receive job training with institutions maintaining relationships with prospective employers to train their future workforce, but a path to higher education should be available for New York residents as well. Unfortunately, due to restrictions on access to High Education the part- nership with Jobs Corp has been frozen for all New York students depriv- ing them of access to these online high schools. In New York, colleges can admit prospective students who have completed online high school programs from out of state, if their home state recognizes the online high school as a high school equivalent. Prospec- tive students who reside in New York however cannot attend without having to take a high school equivalency test. This disparate and inconsistent policy disadvantages New York applicants who completed the exact same program as their out of state counterparts. This legislation does not mandate that colleges and universities admit these students, but rather removes the barrier to applying for admission and makes them eligible for financial aid like all other applicants.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.