If the Internet is good for one thing, it?s spreading urban myths.
The latest one: Students who receive high school graduation certificates instead of diplomas “cannot ever get a diploma or a GED” and are putting their future education plans in jeopardy.
“It?s just so stupid. I don?t know why people would believe this. We?re going to be putting out a statement about it,” said Chad Colby, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education.
“It?s one of the wackiest things I?ve read,” said Ron Peiffer, deputy superintendent of the Maryland State Department of Education.
Federal and state officials said they?ve been inundated with the e-mail that has spawned various versions.
Thee-mails incorrectly state that the federal No Child Left Behind Law was revised in 2004 and includes a provision that offers students a “Certificate of Completion or Attendance” that prohibits them from getting a general equivalency diploma or GED which is similar to a high school diploma, and eventually pursuing college, joining the armed forces and other trade schools.
Colby said the No Child Left Behind Law, which President Bush signed into law in 2002, is not up for reauthorization by Congress until 2007.
He added that he didn?t know of any states that would prevent someone from obtaining a GED after receiving a certificate of completion.
Colby said that in the version he read, a high school in Indiana was mentioned as having awarded 82 certificates of completion and five diplomas in its 2005 graduating class.
But he said he found that in a class of more than 300 students, the school gave out 29 certificates.
“It?s unfortunate that this e-mail is targeting students by trying to get them to believe that they can?t get their education,” he said.
In Maryland, Peiffer said some special education students receive the Maryland Certificate of Completion based on the completion of an individualized education plan that addresses their specific needs.
But he also said they can still pursue other education goals after high school.
“This is just one of those things roaming around the Internet,” Peiffer said.
