California’s Alternative Pathway to a Diploma: Frequently Asked Questions Answered by Experts

California now offers an alternative pathway to a high school diploma for students with significant cognitive disabilities, but since it’s a relatively new program, there’s still confusion about who exactly qualifies and what it means for students with IEPs.

We sat down with Kristin Wright and Stephanie Coleman, two experts from Inclusive Practices and Integrated Systems at the Sacramento County Office of Education, to get answers to common questions from parents.

Wright says, “[The alternative pathway] gives you, as parents, a mechanism to go in and say not ‘Can my student get a diploma?’ but ‘How is my student going to get a diploma, and how are they going to get access to their grade-level standards?’ This has been a new and hard conversation for many districts and schools, and so many are doing incredible work around this, but it's a huge mind shift to move from maybe not having access, especially in high school, to grade-level standards, to suddenly figuring out how courses can be adapted to work for all students.”

We hope the following answers from Wright and Coleman and Undivided's resources help you understand the alternative pathway and feel empowered and informed to advocate for your child’s education.

Is the diploma earned through the alt pathway different from a “regular” diploma?

Coleman says, “It's important to note this is not an alternative diploma in California. This is an alternative pathway in order to earn a high school diploma. And you're probably wondering, what's the nuance there? What does that mean? What's the difference? Well, we think it's a big difference. It is a diploma like every other student in California can earn.”

Wright says, “This came from this idea that all students need to have access to grade-level content, and it may be restricted in scope and complexity, which is exactly what we're talking about for our students with significant cognitive disabilities, or it may be introductory or prerequisite skills, but if it's aligned to the grade-level standards in California, it meets the mark.”

Which disabilities are eligible for the alternative pathway?

Coleman says, “There is not a simple way to determine a ‘significant cognitive disability,’ as it’s called in the law. The way that was already established and used very frequently in education was the alt assessment tool that districts use to determine eligibility for the CAA, so that really is the determining factor. We are talking about 1-2% of students. These are students who have significant cognitive disabilities or extensive support needs. It's not a huge number of students, but it is a very important group of students who have been unable to earn a diploma up to this point.”

What if my child is not on the alternative pathway yet?

You can speak to your IEP team about whether your student meets eligibility for the pathway. You would then map your child’s journey to a diploma as part of the IEP meeting.

My child is a sophomore in high school. Is it too late to get on the alternative pathway?

Absolutely not. Your child has plenty of time to complete the coursework before aging out at age 22. You should request an IEP team meeting to discuss it with your team, sooner than later.

What happened to the certificate of completion?

Coleman says, “Nothing has happened to the certificate of completion. It still exists. But in California, we now have the ability to say that every student has access to a diploma pathway. If, for some reason, a student is unable to meet the requirements for the high school diploma by the time they're aging out at 22, then yes, we would want to honor the work that that student has done with the certificate of completion.”

What is the CAA?

California Alternative Assessment.

What are the benefits/downsides of taking the CAA early on (since elementary)?

When a student takes the CAA, it is counted in the state accountability system. It is expected that the majority of students in the state will take state assessments. Every IEP team should discuss this for each student.

Does the district need to be cautious about deciding who is eligible to take the CAA so they don’t exceed 1% of the student population and extend it to too many students with IEPs?

While states are expected to stay within an overall percentage of participation in their alternate assessments, districts should be offering the CAA to their students with significant cognitive disabilities regardless of how many students that is. Students should not be given the CAA if they don’t have significant cognitive disabilities.

If my child opts out of statewide testing and doesn't take the CAA, can they still get the alt diploma?

It is not a problem if they do not participate in the CAA. The requirement is that they are eligible.

Wright says, “They do not have to take the assessment, although the state recommends that everyone is accountable in the accountability system and takes the assessments, but it's not a deal breaker if, for some reason, they didn't take it or they were opted out of the assessment.”

Are all public schools required to offer the alternative pathway? What about private schools?

All public schools are required to offer this pathway. This is in state law. Private schools are not required.

What if the school tells me they’re not set up for the alt pathway yet?

Coleman says, “‘It's not an option,’ that's what I would say. And I say that because this has been enacted in the 2022-23 school year, so [it’s available to] every student who was in high school or continues to go into high school since that time. This is in ed code. So we need to push for, ‘How is this going to happen for our student? What supports and services need to be in place to ensure they have access to those courses?’ We need to get moving on it. It is in place. Every child has a right to that, not only a right, but we have an obligation to ensure that they have that.”

Coleman says, “That means that they are aligned to the Common Core standards. So it may not be the full breadth of what the standards are in their entirety, but it definitely is tied directly to grade-level standards, which means that students are actually having access to these big, beautiful ideas that their peers are having access to. They may not have the depth of understanding or be able to talk about them, but it doesn't mean that they aren't getting access to them, which is a really important nuance to think about.”

What do I do if I get pushback from gen ed teachers about grading? They compare my student to gen ed students.

This is the power of the IEP. The IEP team (which should include general ed teachers) should work to help individualize expectations. There is no requirement that a student on this pathway meet the same rigor or number of assignments as a student on a traditional pathway. There has been some good work done on grading, so consider coming to the alt pathway Community of Practice to hear more.

Coleman says, “If you are struggling, if you want to hand that Community of Practice flier off to your district and say, ‘It'd be really helpful if you attended this.’ Send them our way or give them our contact information. We are happy to help kickstart people that are feeling like it's a major barrier that they feel is insurmountable. We can help with that, so we want to make sure that there's not something that's getting stuck. If you're feeling like nothing's happening, you can refer them to us. We'll do the best we can to help and support and get things moving along.”

How do I get my district to understand and use Core Content Connectors (CCCs) and Essential Understandings (EUs) to help my student work toward the state standards?

Recommend that they come to the alt pathways Community of Practice and hear what many other districts are doing.

How should high schools grade students with significant cognitive disabilities, including how they measure proficiency toward Core Content Connectors and alternate achievement standards?

There has been some great work done in this area. You can suggest that someone from your school/district attend the alt pathway Community of Practice, which convenes monthly. Also, utilize the power of the IEP to have this conversation. Does the school use pass/fail? That is another way some folks have tackled this issue. Technically, if a student receives an F, they would not get credit for the course and as such wouldn’t be able to meet the minimum state requirements for graduation, so this is not a great option.

Coleman says, “There is not a specific requirement that the state has given to districts around in what ways grading needs to be done. It is the local ability for local education agencies to determine whether they want to do modified grading, if they want to do pass/fail or credit/no credit. That is really a local decision to be made.”

Does my student need to be on an alternate curriculum to be on the alternative pathway to a diploma?

They need access to standards-aligned curriculum and meaningful access to participation. Coleman says, “This does not mean districts need to say, ‘We adopt this curriculum that’s standards-aligned, and anyone on the pathway has to take that.’ That actually is not at all the intent of this. It's actually to increase students’ access to their peers more frequently, to receive access to the curriculum that their peers are receiving on a regular basis. So we want to see more inclusive practices.”

My district started a separate SDC class that is considered the alt pathways class, but they are not included with gen ed peers. This seems counterintuitive to the pathway. How do I fix this?

Recommend they go to the alt pathway Community of Practice to hear from and engage with their colleagues. The intention with this law was not to create “alt pathways classes.” There should be many ways a student can get access to courses and coursework depending on their individual needs.

Wright says, “The students need access to each of the courses that they need for graduation to meet the state minimum requirements, and those should be the courses that are notated on the transcript. I guess it's up to districts what they want to call things. That's their choice, but it seems like it would be easier just to call it ‘English 10 with modifications’ or something, and then if they're in a classroom that's just with students with disabilities, then that's where they're getting it delivered.”

Who should I talk to at the district level about more training on the alternative pathway?

You can ask your district Special Education Department leadership. Wright says, “Also, your local SELPA directors also are very aware of this and could be a valuable resource. SELPA can play a big role in helping to support their districts. So if you haven't talked to your SELPA director, I recommend you do that too.”

Are there any modifications or accommodations that would exclude a student from qualifying for a diploma?

No, as long as the courses/curriculum are aligned to appropriate grade-level standards.

Is access to the alternative standards usually in a separate setting or integrated in the general education classes?

It can be done in all settings. Coleman says, “What might that look like? Well, it could look like some co-taught classes where an ED specialist and a general education teacher are coming together to teach a course. It could be a specialized academic instruction (SAI) course that's often a course taught in a separate setting by an ED specialist. It could look like general education with modifications. It could look like any number of things.”

Wright says, “The whole idea of offering a pathway for students with extensive support needs or significant cognitive disabilities that we want them to have access to high-quality learning in the standards in the content areas that our teachers are trained to have content areas in. So there is not a requirement that you have to be going to a separate place by any means.”

Are there requirements for core classes in terms of credentialing of the teacher? Can an ESN teacher teach all subject matters (science, math, English) even though they don’t have single subject expertise? Can a mod-severe teacher teach all subject matters on this pathway?

There is not a credential requirement. If you are an education specialist serving students with extensive support needs, you are able to teach students with extensive support needs in all content areas. IEP teams should consider if, with support, students can access general education with modifications.

Does my student need to pass algebra on the alternative pathway to a diploma?

Coleman says, “The algebra requirement is still there. There continues to be a waiver that the state of California has had in place for the algebra requirement for a very long time. We still want students to have access to standard curriculum in algebra, just like anything else, but there is a waiver process if needed, and districts are have been aware of that waiver process, so it shouldn't be new to them if they need to utilize that, but our hope is that they actually will be able to do it within the same ways that they're ensuring access in all of the other content areas.” For more information and resources, see Accessible Algebra for EVERY Learner in the Undivided resource library.

How does this affect ESY?

This does not impact ESY.

If students don't finish the credits by 12th grade, can they continue working on the credits?

Yes, students on the pathway have until age 22 to complete the requirements.

How does this affect staying in a comprehensive high school setting rather than an adult transition setting if they are still eligible by age?

This pathway allows students to continue until age 22 even after completing the course requirements if they need more time for their individual needs.

Getting a job many times requires a diploma. Will the diploma have any markings on it to show that it’s a different one in terms of content covered or graduation requirements?

This is a pathway to a regular high school diploma. How a student attained it (which classes they took and if they were modified) is on the transcript, and nothing should look any different on the diploma document itself.

Will getting the alternative diploma affect students in receiving social services in their later adulthood?

Earning a diploma on the alternative pathway does not preclude students from social services after graduation.

Wright says, “We've done training with Regional Centers and their service coordinators to help them understand that students still have a right to their 18-22 transition services. That said there are situations where a student graduates, they get a diploma on the pathway, and they want to go on to something else; they don't want to be going back to high school anymore or to the transition program, and they want to leave to go to adult services. That's something that Regional Centers will look at on a case-by-case basis. So I won't speak for Regional Centers, but I'll say that the answer is, in our state, it's supposed to be individualized, right?”

Which California colleges have inclusive programs in place?

Check out the website cainclusivecolleges.org.

Wright says, “I don't know if any of you have heard recently about California's expansion of inclusive college opportunities for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, but as we're thinking about what potential opportunities might be available, I think one of the things that we've seen, especially with our students going on into college programs, is that many of them have not had access to academic work and content and reading. And so as we're thinking about this opportunity, even from students that are much younger than high school, we're looking ahead to say, let's give as much access and opportunity to academics and to engaging with grade-level standards as possible to not limit anything.”

Does this apply to other states?

Each state is different and nuanced. This information is focused solely on California’s program.

Thank you to Kristin Wright and Stephanie Coleman for sharing their insights and answering parent questions during our live event! Check out the full recording (with transcript available) here in our resource library.

As part of their presentation, Wright and Coleman shared a “home base” document, which has helpful links and resources, including their slide deck. Coleman says, “If you are a parent or community organization that seems to be struggling a little with districts understanding things, you're welcome to share this with them.”

We have more live Q&As with special education experts coming up soon. To stay updated on upcoming events and other helpful resources, join our free weekly newsletter list!