House Bill 178 that passed during the 2004 legislative session and the subsequent KRS 158.146 require the Kentucky Department of Education to establish and implement a comprehensive statewide strategy to address the student dropout problem in our state. The bill and statute require KDE and local districts to take into consideration student programs and services that include identification, counseling, mentoring and other educational strategies for students who are demonstrating little or no success in school, or who possess other risk factors that contribute to the likelihood of their dropping out of school.
The American Council on Education has granted a waiver to Kentucky to establish a Secondary GED Program as a component of a high school curriculum and dropout prevention program. The purpose of the Secondary GED Program is to provide a potential dropout student, who has the academic capability to complete the high school graduation requirements but who is behind his/her cohort group in the credits needed to graduate, the opportunity to stay in school and prepare for and obtain the GED certificate.
This program is an optional program for districts and a voluntary program for students who have decided to drop out of school and have been provided all available interventions and support prior to choosing this program as an option. The Kentucky Administrative Regulation that establishes the requirements governing the Kentucky Secondary GED Program is 704 KAR 7:150.