Prince William County, Va. –– In a memo released June 1, Prince William County Public School officials said the implementation of the Standard Technical Diploma for graduating high school seniors would be delayed by one year due to recent legislation. PWCS named Virginia General Assembly House Bill 1554 and Senate Bill 810 as the cause of the delay.
In a Virginia Department of Education report, however, it is noted that neither House Bill 1554 or Senate Bill 810 prohibits a school division from making the standard or advanced technical diplomas available to students who entered high school prior to 2012-2013 –– the year Prince William County Schools plans to begin offering them ––as long as the requirements have been met.
However, schools are not required to award either technical diploma until the class beginning 9th grade in 2012/2013.
Prince William County Schools Community Relations Supervisor Irene Cromer said that the decision was made by not the school system, but rather the Virginia Department of Education. “VDOE’s delay gives PWCS the time needed to put into place the necessary courses, reconfigure credits, allocate budget resources, and all related tasks associated with this level of change” she said.
