Office of Postsecondary Education - U.S. Department of Education

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with RULES266888 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 209 / Friday, October 29, 2010 / Rules and Regulationsissues such as foreign postsecondaryschools, defunct schools, and missingrecords.Finally, some commenters asked whatwe would consider acceptabledocumentation when a high school doesnot appear in the Department’s databaseof acceptable high schools.Discussion: As noted earlier in thispreamble, we are not delaying theeffective date of § 668.16(p). We believeit is an important new provision thatcan be implemented for the 2011–2012year on the basis we describe in thispreamble.To emphasize a point earlier in thispreamble, a school’s inclusion on thelist on FAFSA on the Web does notmean that it is exempt from possiblereview by an institution. Acceptabledocumentation for a review can includea high school diploma and a finaltranscript that shows all the courses thestudent completed.Changes: None.Comment: One commenter requestedthat the high school diploma validationrequired under § 668.16(p) apply only toundergraduates. Others asked forinstitutions to be able to waive diplomavalidation for students who aresubstantially older than traditionalcollege age and for students whose highschool no longer exists or cannot bereadily identified.Discussion: For 2011–2012, theDepartment will only ask first-yearundergraduate students to provide onFAFSA on the Web information aboutthe high school they graduated from.However, § 668.16(p) requiresinstitutions to review any high schooldiploma if the institution or theSecretary has reason to believe thediploma is not valid. In those instancesthe institution must evaluate thevalidity of the student’s high schoolcompletion whether the diploma wasobtained by an undergraduate or otherstudent and regardless of whether thestudent’s high school no longer exists oris not easily identified. We do notbelieve it is appropriate to limit thisrequirement to only undergraduatestudents or those whose high schoolsare not easily identified because thestudent eligibility requirement to have ahigh school diploma or its recognizedequivalent or to meet an alternativestandard applies to all students.Changes: None.Comment: Several commentersexpressed concern about the difficultyof validating high schools, not only forolder students, but also for studentswho graduated from a high school in adifferent part of the country, or inanother country. One commentersuggested that the Department permitinstitutions to use copies of foreignsecondary school credentials,attestations, and proof of entry into theUnited States after the age ofcompulsory attendance, whenevaluating the secondary schooleducation of foreign-born students.Another commenter stated that manyadmissions offices use the ‘‘credentialscore’’ for foreign countries instead ofthe name of the school, and that theDepartment should give guidance onhow institutions can use that score toevaluate diplomas from foreign schools.A couple of commenters expressedconcern that under proposed § 668.16(p)students who went to foreign schoolswould be adversely affected andpossibly denied access to postsecondaryeducation.Discussion: An institution mayconsider various kinds ofdocumentation when developing itsprocedures for evaluating the validity ofa student’s high school diploma. Forexample, there are companies thatprovide services for determining thevalidity of foreign secondary schooldiplomas; documentation from suchcompanies can inform an institution’sdiploma evaluation.Changes: None.Comment: A couple of commentersasked if there will be an appeal processfor students if an institution determinesthat their high school diploma isinvalid. Others observed that differentinstitutions may decide differentlyabout a given high school’s diploma andasked whether the Department will bethe final arbiter in these situations.Discussion: The regulations do notprovide for an appeal process forstudents if an institution determinestheir high school diploma is invalid.The Department considers institutionsto be our agents in administering thetitle IV, HEA programs and to have finalauthority in many decisions.Consequently, we do not generally haveappeal processes in place forinstitutional determinations of studenteligibility. Moreover, the Departmentwill not intervene in cases where a highschool diploma is deemed valid at oneinstitution but not another.Changes: None.Comment: Several commenters askedwhat the effect of proposed § 668.16(p)would be on homeschooling, and somecommenters noted that a home schoolcredential is different from a highschool diploma and asked that theDepartment emphasize this difference.Others asked that we provide guidanceon State-granted credentials forhomeschoolers and best practices forverifying home school credentials. Oneorganization asked that theVerDate Mar2010 14:10 Oct 28, 2010 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\29OCR2.SGM 29OCR2achievements of homeschoolers not beignored, and that the proposedregulations and any related FAFSAchanges recognize that graduates ofhome schools receive a diploma fromtheir program.Finally, one commenter questionedwhy the Department is so interested inthe quality of a high school diploma(which is not defined in the HEA or theDepartment’s regulations) whenhomeschooled students are taught bytheir parents, who (typically) lackcredentials and curriculum standards.Discussion: Section 668.16(p) doesnot apply to homeschooled students.For guidance pertaining tohomeschooled students, please seeChapter 1 of Volume 1 of the FederalStudent Aid Handbook.Changes: None.Comment: Many commenters asked ifthere would be, or suggested that thereshould be, a mechanism for schools andState and local agencies, accreditingbodies, and education departments tosuggest schools that should be added toany acceptable and unacceptable liststhat the Department develops inconnection with § 668.16(p). Onecommenter requested that when we askStates to provide lists of approvedschools, they provide all high schoolsand not just public high schools, whichthe commenter noted fall under moreState oversight. Another commenterrecommended referring to the CollegeEntrance Examination Board (CEEB)code for high schools to determinewhether those are acceptable, andanother suggested consulting theCollege Board and the Department ofDefense to help build the list ofacceptable high schools. A fewcommenters asked what will happenwhen an institution evaluates a diplomafrom a school not on the Department’slist of acceptable high schools and findsthat the school is acceptable. Thecommenter wondered if this will meanthat institutions will have their ownlists of acceptable schools separate fromthe Department’s.Discussion: As noted earlier in thispreamble, we intend to use informationfrom NCES to create a drop-down list inFAFSA on the Web populated by thenames of public and private highschools that NCES provides to us.Neither inclusion on the list norexclusion from it is an indication ofwhether a high school will need to bereviewed by a postsecondary institutionunder § 668.16(p).There is a procedure by which privateschools may submit their name forinclusion on the private school list.Postsecondary institutions are not