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If any one of these situations applies to you:

• You are in an unstable living situation, without a safe and steady home
• You are in foster care
• You are part of a military family
• You are a migratory child OR
• You have been in a juvenile court school

And if both of these apply to you:

You changed schools any time after 10th grade AND You probably can’t graduate from high school in 4 years. Then you can:

1. Stay in high school an extra year (a 5th year) to finish your graduation requirements OR Get a state diploma* (easier than a regular diploma), if you can’t finish all your graduation requirements in 4 or 5 years of high school
2. Even if you never changed schools, you get partial credit for any part of a course you completed, even if you didn’t finish the course.

*A state high school diploma requires fewer credits than a regular district high school diploma, so it’s easier to get. BUT, keep in mind that with a state diploma, you will not be able to go directly into a four-year state college or university. You will be able to go directly into a community college.

California’s School Counselors Have Powerful Legal Tools to Help Highly Mobile Students Graduate.

1. Partial Credits

School districts, charter schools, and county offices of education must accept partial credit for partial coursework satisfactorily completed by students in another school who are:

• In foster care;
• In an unstable living situation, without a safe and steady home (experiencing homelessness);
• Part of a military family;
• Migratory children; or
• Former juvenile court school students

Credits must be accepted even if the student did not complete the entire course.

School districts, charter schools, and county offices of education also must:

• Issue partial credits to these students for the coursework they complete.
• Enroll students with partial credits from another school in the same or an equivalent course at the new school, so student may continue and complete the entire course.

2. Diplomas

Students who are:

• In foster care;
• In an unstable living situation, without a safe and steady home (experiencing homelessness);
• Part of a military family;
• A migratory child; or
• Have been in a juvenile court school,

And:

• Changed schools any time after 10th grade; and
• are not reasonably able to complete the district’s (or charter school’s) graduation requirements in time to graduate from high school in four years,

As well as:

• Any newcomer students in their third or fourth year of high school

Have the right to:

• Stay in high school a 5th year) to finish the district’s (or charter school’s) graduation requirements;

OR

• Get a state diploma, if they cannot meet local graduation requirements in four years.*

*If students may be able to attain a regular diploma in five years of high school, it is best to encourage them to stay and work toward that goal, as a regular diploma opens up more opportunities than a state diploma, particularly for college.