The House Education Policy Committee gave a favorable report Wednesday to House Bill 266, which would codify and expand a partnership between the Alabama Department of Education and the Alabama Community College System to help students who did not graduate earn a high school diploma.
Sponsored by Rep. Matt Woods, R-Jasper, the Restoring Educational Advancement of Completing High School, or REACH Act, aims to strengthen Alabama’s workforce by re-engaging former students.
The bill would require the Department of Education to share the names of students who leave school without graduating with the Community College System which would then contact those individuals about diploma completion opportunities.
“I believe that this bill allows us to reach one of the most vulnerable segments of our population in a way that can have them become a greater part of our workforce,” Woods said. “Students without a high school diploma are at a much higher risk of being chronically unemployed, underemployed or incarcerated.”
According to information from the Alabama Department of Education, since 2016, between 2,000 and 3,000 students left school each year before graduating. Since the nontraditional diploma option was introduced in 2016, more than 2,100 students have earned their high school credentials through the program, according to the Alabama Community College System.