Former students who have dropped out of high school could potentially be a step closer to achieving a High School Equivalency (HSE) diploma without realizing it.

The New York State Education Department recently announced a proposed plan to allow high school drop outs to use previously passed Regents exams to count toward their Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC) subtests that are required for achieving a HSE diploma.

Mike McElrath, Jamestown high school principal, said it was too early to know how the proposal could impact former students.

“It’s really to early for me to tell what impact this new proposed legislation will have on us in the long run,” McElrath said. “They have put the legislation out for a 45 day public comment period to hear from the field and I expect that this will allow them to make any necessary changes or modifications moving forward.”

According to the New York State Education Department, Jamestown High School had 73 drop outs since the 2015-16 school year. Data for the 2016-17 school year has not been made available.

New York state currently offers former students who have not graduated three options for achieving a diploma: the TASC subtests; completion of an approved 24-college-credit program; or complete the National External Diploma Program.

The subtests evaluate individuals on mathematics, science, reading, writing and social studies. Only those who have not graduated from high school, are currently not enrolled in high school and at least 16-years old are eligible to take the TASC subtests.

“The proposed amendment allows students who have passed any Regents examination in Mathematics, English Language Arts, Social Studies or Science to use those passing scores in place of the corresponding TASCTM subtests,” said the New York State Board of Regents. “Students will not be allowed to use previously passed Regents exam scores towards an HSE diploma until they have exited from high school”

The state Education Department said 15,819 former students have passed at least one regents exam but eventually dropped out. The state broke down the number of regents passed and the number of drop outs that corresponded with that number: 5,767 drop outs with one regents passed; 3,831 drop outs with two regents passed; 3,178 drop outs with three regents passed; and 3,043 drop outs with four regents passed.

“It’s a great opportunity (and) an additional pathway for students to earn a New York state high school equivalent diploma,” said Wendy Present, director of admissions and recruitment at Jamestown Community College.

McElrath looked at the proposal from two opposite perspectives. On one end, the principal said the proposal might actually increase drop out rates if regents scores could count toward a HSE diploma. He said students who have passed a few regents exams who have been thinking about attaining a HSE diploma might drop out to avoid sitting through the remainder of their classes.

But McElrath said for the students who have passed regents and then decided to drop out will benefit from the proposed plan. Although, McElrath said the number of students who leave school after passing regents exams are few.

“The majority of our drop-outs do so for reasons other than a failure to pass regents exams,” McElrath said. “These include, among other things, disruptive family circumstances, poor attendance and/or commitment to school. And, in some cases, the need to work.”