How do I find and enroll in a high school diploma program?

If you’re currently incarcerated:

    In a federal prison: Soon after you enter prison, your Unit Team or Education Staff should review your assessment (from county jail, see PG. 853) and recommend classes for you. If you don’t have a high school credential, the facility will enroll you in literacy classes designed to lead up to a high school diploma (or a GED, if your facility offers a GED program).[2819] Ask your Education Advisor if you have questions about enrolling in classes.

NOTE: If you are in a California state facility you may be able to get extra tutoring support through the Voluntary Education Program (VEP). Ask your Correctional Counselor or Education Department staff if you have questions about the diploma program or VEP. Remember, to enroll in any education program, you must have a TABE score on file (see PG. 853).

    In a California state prison: If you’ve completed some high school in the past, and if your current skills are at a high school grade level (9-12), you should be enrolled in the high school diploma program at your facility. Education Department staff will review your high school transcript (if you have one) and TABE scores and decide whether you can enroll.[2820]
    In a California county jail: Check with your jail’s education staff to find out whether high school diploma courses are offered and how to enroll.[2821]

If you’re formerly incarcerated:

    Visit any public library or community bookstore to find free or low-cost high school level study materials, including books you may need for classes, as well as lessons you can work through on your own.
    Contact any public library, adult school, or community college to ask about free or low-cost adult high school diploma programs near you.[2822]
    If you have Internet access, search online for high school diploma programs near you:
    America’s Literacy Directory: www.literacydirectory.org
    National Literacy Directory: www.nationalliteracydirectory.org/
    California Adult Schools: www.californiaadultschools.org/cas/
    California Adult Education Provider Directory: www.otan.us/caaeproviders/
    California Community College Finder: www.californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/maps/map.asp

Helpful HintFinding a High School Diploma Program

    TIP 1: Many community colleges offer dual enrollment programs or continuing education programs, which allow you to earn an adult high school diploma or equivalency certificate AND get started on earning college credits at the same time.[2823] TIP 2: If you have meaningful school, work, or life experience, find out if you can make it count toward your diploma. Some adult schools or programs might give you credit for past high school work, job training, work experience, community service, military service, or self-study. Ask the individual school or program if it will do this.[2824]
  1. 2819

    If you’re not fluent in English, you must be enrolled in ESL until you reach an 8th grade level in listening and reading comprehension. Also, if you don’t have a high school credential, you must enroll in Adult Literacy classes until you log 240 hours of class time or until you earn a GED, whichever comes first. See U.S. Dep’t Justice Fed. Bureau of Prisons, Program Statement 5350.24 English-as-a-Second-Language Program (July 24, 1997); U.S. Dep’t Justice Fed. Bureau of Prisons, Program Statement 5350.28 Literacy Program (GED Standard) (Feb. 1, 2003); U.S. Dep’t Justice Fed. Bureau of Prisons, Program Statement 5300.21, Education, Training, and Leisure Time Program Standards (Feb. 18, 2002); U.S. Dep’t Justice, Fed. Bureau of Prisons, A Directory of Bureau of Prisons’ National Programs (May 21, 2014), pp. 1-3. ↑

  2. 2820

    Cal. Dep’t Corr. & Rehab., Operations Manual 101010.3.4–101010.5.4 (2015); High School Diploma (HD) Program, Cal. Dep’t of Corr. & Rehab. Div. of Rehabilitative Programs, www.cdcr.ca.gov/rehabilitaiton/high-school-diploma.html. ↑

  3. 2821

    Cal. Veh. Code § 1900 et seq; Adult Education Program Overview, Cal. Dep’t of Educ., www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ae/po/. ↑

  4. 2822

    See U.S. Dep’t of Educ. Office of Vocational & Adult Educ., Take Charge of Your Future: Get the Education and Training You Need (2012); Cal. Veh. Code §§ 52501- 52503; Cal. Code Regs. tit. 5 § 10560; Adult Education Program Overview, Cal. Dep’t of Educ., www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ae/po/. ↑

  5. 2823

    See GED Preparation, High School Diploma/Basic Skills, San Diego Continuing Educ., http://www.sdce.edu/classes/high-school-ged-basic-skills; General Education Development, Clackamas Cmt’y Coll., http://www.clackamas.edu/GED/. ↑

  6. 2824

    See Rachel Aviv, Turning Experience Into College Credit, N.Y. Times (Oct. 30, 2008); Prior Learning Assessment Services, Council for Adult & Experiential Learning, Colls. & Univs., www.cael.org/whom-we-serve/colleges-and-universities/prior-learning-assessment-services. ↑