1. (1) A TCS district, college, university, community-based organization, federal job corps center or the department of corrections may submit a plan to the state superintendent requesting approval of a program for determining high school equivalency. The program shall be designed to determine whether a person has attained the knowledge and skills generally associated with graduation from high school, including employability skills, career awareness, citizenship, and each of the subject areas under s. 118.33 (1) (a), Stats., except physical education. The plan shall include all of the following:

   1. (a) A description of any courses, training, and counseling which will be included in the proposed program, including the number of hours of instructional time, if any; and a description of the methods of evaluation or assessment that will be used to determine the person’s knowledge and skills.
   2. (b) The qualifications of the professional staff members who will be involved in the program.
   3. (c) A description of any groups, such as older adults, minorities, displaced homemakers or displaced workers, which might be effectively served by the proposed program, and a description of how the program will meet the special needs of these groups.
   4. (d) A plan for evaluating the proposed program to determine its effectiveness in assessing high school equivalency.

2. (2)

   1. (a) The state superintendent may approve the program for an initial period of time, not to exceed one year. At the end of the initial approval period, if the state superintendent determines that the program has successfully measured attainment of high school equivalency, as described in sub. (1) (intro.), he or she may grant continuing approval, subject to annual reviews. The state superintendent may withdraw approval of a program at any time, if the program does not meet all of the requirements of this section and of the approved plan.

   2. (b) The state superintendent shall approve or disapprove the application in writing. If the application is not approved, the reasons for disapproval shall be specified in the written disapproval. An agency under sub. (1) which has been denied approval may, within 30 days of receipt of the written disapproval:

      1. 1. Resubmit the application with additional information or modifications in the proposed program, or,
      2. 2. Request, in writing, a review of the disapproval and an opportunity to meet with the department concerning the reasons for disapproval. If a request is made under this subdivision, the department shall grant the request and shall issue a final decision in writing following the review and any requested meeting.

3. (3) The state superintendent shall grant a high school equivalency diploma to a person who meets the requirements of s. PI 5.03 and provides written verification that he or she has satisfactorily completed an approved program under this section.

   Note: The department will maintain a listing of general educational development testing sites and of programs which meet the requirements of this chapter. The list may be obtained at no charge by writing to the Department of Public Instruction, Division for Instructional Services, 125 South Webster Street, P.O. Box 7841, Madison, WI 53707-7841.

History

History: Cr. Register, February, 1988, No. 386, eff. 7-1-88; am. (1) (intro.), Register, October, 1989, No. 406, eff. 11-1-89; am. (1) (intro.), Register, June, 1992, No. 438, eff. 7-1-92; correction in (1) (intro.) made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 6., Stats., Register, March, 1996, No. 483.