As a result of the passage of House Bill (HB) 91 in the Georgia General Assembly, former Newton County School System (NCSS) students who did not earn a diploma due to failing one or more portions of the Georgia High School Graduation test or the Georgia High School Writing Test now have the opportunity to petition the Newton County School System to receive their high school diploma.
High school students had previously been required to pass all portions of the Georgia High School Graduation Tests in order to obtain a diploma. This law retroactively eliminates that requirement for students who enrolled for the first time in ninth grade on or after July 1, 1981 to the present.
Former NCSS students interested in petitioning for a high school diploma must complete and submit the NCSS HB 91 Petition for Diploma Form to Ms. Geneva Guthrie in the NCSS Curriculum and Instruction Department, located at 2109 Newton Drive NE, Covington, Georgia 30014. (The form may be downloaded from the NCSS website at newtoncountyschools.org.) If submitting the form by mail, a scanned/copied image of a valid, government-issued photo identification should be included. NCSS officials will review the former student’s transcripts to determine if he/she is in fact eligible to receive a high school diploma. Eligibility will be based on course work and credit requirements for graduation in effect when the petitioning student entered the ninth grade.
If the petition is denied, the former student did not meet all other graduation requirements in effect at that time. If the petition is approved, NCSS will notify the student and update his/her official transcript. The school system will also notify Jostens that the student’s petition has been approved in the event he/she wishes to purchase an official diploma. The school system will not order or pay for diplomas. That is the sole responsibility of the student. The date of graduation recorded on the diploma will be the date the petition was approved.
Former students with questions should contact Ms. Shannon Buff, NCSS Director of Secondary Education, atbuff.shannon@newton.k12.ga.us.
