Pending Regulation

Title 5 - DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

Division 60 - Division of Career Education

Chapter 100 - Adult Education

PROPOSED AMENDMENT

Comments about this proposed amendment must be submitted by February 1, 2008, to the
Assistant Commissioner of Career Education, PO Box 480, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0480;
or by e-mail to this address: webreplyvae@dese.mo.gov .

5 CSR 60-100.020  Administration of High School Equivalence Program.  The State Board of Education is proposing to amend sections (1), (2), (4), (5) and (6).

PURPOSE:  To update the rule and for the State Board of Education to set fees for the administration of the GED Tests by resolution.

(1) To be eligible to take the General Educational Development (GED) [t]Tests and earn a Missouri High School Equivalence[y] Certificate, a person must be a resident of Missouri (with a Missouri mailing address), and meet one (1) of the following requirements:

(C) Be currently enrolled in school and qualify as a participant in an approved [GED] Missouri Option Program for at-risk youth; or

(D) Be sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age, withdrawn from school and:

(1)  Have the written permission of the superintendent or principal of the school last attended;

(2)  Have written permission of the parent or legal guardian, if home[-] schooled; or

(3)  Be incarcerated or have the written permission of the juvenile judge if under the court’s jurisdiction.

(2) Arrangements for Taking the GED Tests.

[(A) Servicemen who are residents of Missouri or who are stationed in Missouri in active military service will be allowed to take the GED tests upon the payment of the regular fee established by the Missouri State Board of Education (the board).]

[(B)] (A) The GED [t]Tests are administered under the direction of DESE at centers approved and designated by DESE.

[(C)] (B) Application forms may be obtained by contacting the GED Office, PO Box 480, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0480.  The completed form is to be returned for approval.  Only approved applicants may take the examination. Positive identification in the form of a current Missouri driver’s license or Missouri non-driver ID[, or United States Passport] must be presented by the examinee before being allowed to take the GED [t]Test. The local testing center is responsible for positive identification of examinees.

[(D)] (C) A fee approved by the State Board of Education (board) must accompany each application to cover the cost of administering the program.  [The remittance by cash, postal money order or cashier’s check must be made payable to the Treasurer, State of Missouri.]  An additional fee payable to the local GED testing center is required prior to testing.  [The fee is] These fees are nonrefundable and nontransferable and [Personal checks are not accepted.  The fee for processing applications and issuance of a certificate when achieved will be twenty dollars ($20).  An additional application and fee of twenty dollars ($20)] will be required each time an individual retakes any part of the test.  [Processing of an application and issuance of a certificate to an individual who took the test through the United States Armed Forces Institute/Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support will be twenty dollars ($20).  In addition to the fee paid to the Treasurer, State of Missouri, an examinee will pay the local testing center a fee set by the local testing center not to exceed twenty dollars ($20) each time the tests are taken.  A fee of two dollars ($2), payable to the Treasurer, State of Missouri, also will be charged for each] Additional transcripts and [issued other than the original.  R]replacement certificates [may be purchased for a fee of fifteen dollars ($15), payable to Treasurer, State of Missouri] are available for additional fees.

(4) [Effective January 1, 2002, a total minimum standard score or two thousand, two hundred fifty (2,250) or above on the five (5) tests of the GED, with no score below four hundred ten (410), is required to qualify for a] The Missouri Certificate of High School Equivalence is awarded on the basis of the successful completion of the GED Tests.  Minimum standard scores are established in accordance with the policies and procedures of the General Educational Development Testing Services (GEDTS) of the American Council on Education (ACE).

(5) Certificates of High School Equivalence are issued only by DESE.  Public high schools are not permitted to issue these certificates nor are they permitted to issue a diploma on the basis of the GED [t]Tests unless the district is part of the [GED] Missouri Option Program [for at-risk youth].

(6) Reexamination.

(B) [If the scores on the reexamination do not meet the minimum certificate requirements, the highest scores above four hundred ten (410) received on all tests taken within the last two (2) years will be compared with the most recent scores.]  The highest score obtained for each of the five (5) tests within a two (2) year period will be used as [a] the basis for determining [the] eligibility for the certificate in accordance with GEDTS standards and procedures.

[(C) An applicant who has been reauthorized more than twice and fails to take the tests or who fails to take the tests within two (2) years after approval must submit a new application and fee.]

(7) GED Tests given by DANTES or USAFI are recognized by Missouri.  A completed application form, fee and an official transcript of GED scores must be submitted to the GED Office, PO Box 480, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0480.  A Missouri Certificate of High School Equivalence will be issued if the standard scores meet the minimum score requirements established by the board.

AUTHORITY:  sections 161.092, RSMo Supp. [2002] 2006 and 161.093 and 161.095, RSMo 2000.  Original rule filed Oct. 10, 1969, effective Oct. 20, 1969.  Amended:  Filed Oct. 14, 1976, effective Feb. 1, 1977.  Amended:  Filed Feb. 13, 1978, effective May 15, 1978.  Amended:  Filed June 28, 1985, effective Oct. 14, 1985.  Amended:  Filed Sept. 25, 1987, effective Jan. 29, 1988.  Amended:  Filed Jan. 28, 1992, effective Sept. 6, 1992.  Amended:  Filed Oct. 31, 1996, effective June 30, 1997.  Amended:  Filed March 24, 1998, effective Oct. 30, 1998.  Amended:  Filed March 21, 2001, effective Oct. 30, 2001.  Amended:  Filed Sept. 24, 2002, effective April 30, 2003. Amended:  Filed Nov. 28, 2007.

PUBLIC COST:  The proposed amendment is estimated to cost public school districts eighty-wo thousand four hundred and fifty dollars ($82,450) based on Fiscal Year 2007 Missouri Options GED Test applications.  Costs may vary over the life of the rule depending upon enrollment in the Missouri Options program and fees approved by the State Board of Education.

PRIVATE COST:  This proposed amendment will not cost private entities more than five hundred dollars ($500) in the aggregate.

NOTICE TO SUBMIT COMMENTS:  Anyone may file a statement in support of or in opposition to this proposed amendment with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, ATTN:  Don Eisinger, Coordinator, Division of Career Education, PO Box 480, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0480.  To be considered, comments must be received within thirty (30) days after publication of this notice in the Missouri Register.  No public hearing is scheduled.

FISCAL NOTE
PUBLIC COST

I.  RULE NUMBER

II.          SUMMARY OF FISCAL IMPACT

III.         WORKSHEET

In Fiscal Year 2007, 1,649 public school students took the GED Tests as part of the Missouri Options Program.  After completion of the public comment period, staff will recommend that the Board establish a fee for the state application and local test fee of $25, a transcript request fee of $5.00, and a replacement certificate fee of $20.  The changes would be effective July 1, 2008.  Therefore cost, depending upon enrollment in the Missouri Options Program, would be 1,649 @ $50.00 or $82,450.  

IV.         ASSUMPTIONS

Staff expects the cost per application and test will be stable at least through December 31, 2010.  The American Council on Education from which DESE leases the test is expected to implement a new test and quite possibly computer-based testing which may require new fee amounts for the test.  This would include different fee amounts based on whether the test is paper-based and/or computer-based.

For more information regarding this rule, please contact
Adult Education Section at (573) 751-2571.