MO HB365

Beginning with the 2018-19 school year, public school students must achieve proficient level or higher on a comprehensive assessment taken after 8th grade to receive a high school academic diploma from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Students or their parents may choose from the ACT, COMPASS, ASVAB, GED, or end-of-course statewide assessments in mathematics, communication arts, social sciences, and science to meet the requirement

Students receiving special education services under an IEP who score at least one standard deviation below average on intelligence tests may receive a "diploma of local achievement" instead of an academic diploma

Removes existing prohibition that prevented the state board of education from establishing any test as a condition for high school graduation or a state-approved diploma

Public higher education institutions must recognize the high school academic diploma as sufficient for placement in first college-level mathematics and English composition courses counting toward the 42-hour general education core