IKF - Graduation Requirements
Date Adopted: 6 April 1988
Current Review / Revision: 10 September 2025
Diplomas and Completion Certificates
Diplomas and completion certificates shall be awarded to students who have satisfied all requirements of the Emery County School District and the Utah State Board of Education as outlined in policy and in Utah State Board of Education Rule R277-705, including requirements related to the Utah Basic Skills Competency Test. Students much be enrolled in the District for at least one semester immediately prior to graduation. Adult education students will be awarded diplomas as set forth in Policy IHD.
Special Education Students—
Special education students shall satisfy high school completion or graduation criteria, consistent with state and federal law and the student’s IEP. Such students may be awarded a certificate of completion or a diploma as set forth above, consistent with state and federal law and the student’s IEP or Section 504 plan.
Utah Admin. Rules R277-705-4 (November 7, 2024)
A student with a significant cognitive disability may be awarded an alternate diploma if the student accesses grade-level Core standards through the Essential Elements, the student’s IEP team makes graduation substitutions in the same content area from a list of alternative courses approved by the State Superintendent, and the student meets all graduation requirements prior to exiting school at or before age 22. An alternate diploma may not indicate that the recipient is a student with a disability. Notwithstanding the award of an alternate diploma, the District may still be obligated to provide FAPE to an eligible student in accordance with IDEA.
Utah Admin. Rules R277-705-5 (November 7, 2024)
Credits Toward High School Graduation
Students may earn credit by any of the following methods:
- successful completion of approved secondary school courses;
- successful completion of concurrent enrollment classes consistent with Utah State Board Rule R277-713;
- demonstrated competency, as determined by district or school assessment and standards;
- demonstrated competency as determined by review of student work or projects consistent with school procedures and criteria;
- Evaluation of student work or projects consistent with District or school procedures and criteria.
- successful completion of correspondence or electronic coursework offered by accredited education institutions or school to the extent practicable;
- Transfer credits awarded to a student by a school or provider accredited by an accrediting entity adopted by the State Board of Education, which credits shall be accepted as issued by the school, without alteration.
Secondary schools shall accept credit from secondary schools, supplemental education service providers, and distance learning schools approved by the State Board of Education without alteration. (See Utah State Board of Education Rule R277-705 for definitions). Credits accepted shall be recognized as original credit earned for specific courses, including Core courses.
Secondary schools may accept credits from non-accredited supplemental education service providers and other credit sources with written approval from the student's principal or designee prior to program enrollment. Credits earned from non-accredited supplemental education providers or other credit sources:
- shall be aligned with the State Core Curriculum;
- shall have course content that matches the Core course requirements; and
- shall have end of course tests that meet or exceed school district assessments.
Each secondary school shall have a review process for acceptance and reciprocity of credits earned by students through competency and non-accredited supplemental education service providers and other credit sources. School review processes may require timelines to receive adequate and timely documentation of authenticity for credits and grades submitted.
Each secondary school shall include in their handbooks notification to parents and students concerning this policy and the process the school will employ for review of credit.
Subjects to be required of every student in grades 9-12:
Beginning Ending
Subject Class of 2023 Class of 2022
Language Arts 4.0 4.0 From Approved Courses
Math1 3.0 3.0 From Approved Courses
Science2 3.0 3.0 From Approved Courses
Social Studies3 3.0 3.0 From Approved Courses
Physical Education alth4 2.0 2.0 From Approved Courses
Career & Technical Ed (CTE)5 2.0 2.0 From Approved Courses
Fine Arts 1.5 1.5 From Approved Courses
Digital Studies6 1.0 1.0 From Approved Courses
Financial Literacy 0.5 1.0 From Approved Courses
Electives 11 10.5
Total Required Credits 31.0 31.0
1. Secondary Math I, II, and III or higher and math courses selected from the approved State Board list of approved courses.
2. Two credits from: Biology, Physics, Chemistry or Computer Science. Additionally, one credit from the State approved foundations courses or the applied or advanced science core list.
4. Required .5 credit Health, Required .5 credit Fitness for Life, .5 credit Participation Skills, .5 credit Individualized Lifetime Activities. A maximum of 1 credit can be earned from Team Sport or Athletic participation.
(.25 credits per sport season)
5. Any state approved Career and Technical Education course will fulfill this requirement.
6. Qualifying courses are Business Office Specialist, Computer Science Principles, Computer Programming 1, Digital Business Applications, Web Development 1, or Exploring Computer Science.
**Elective credits provide a means for specialization related to interest and post-secondary goals.
**Demonstrated Competency – District and/or state issued assessment and/or other process used to determine subject knowledge and core standard proficiency.
Emery School District Alternate Diploma
The requirements for this diploma are listed below. If a student requests this graduation plan, it requires a meeting with the student, parent, and counselor, with approval from an administrator and Emery County School Board. Board approval opportunities will occur two times yearly. Beginning of school year, and a mid-year review. A student may not apply for an alternate diploma prior to mid-year of their junior year.
THE 31 CREDIT DIPLOMA IS THE RECOMMENDED PLAN FOR ALL EMERY DISTRICT STUDENTS. However, it is understood that for some, the 31-credit diploma is not attainable. The guidelines for the 24-credit diploma plan must all be followed or appealed to the Emery County School Board if an exception is justified. Students completing this diploma may continue to attend High School in Emery School District and participate in their graduation ceremony.
1. All Core courses must be completed. The 24- credit basic diploma requires:
- English/Language Arts (4 Credits)
- Mathematics (3 Credits):
- Successful completion of Secondary Mathematics I, II, and III or higher.
- Parents may request that students replace Secondary III with a course from the Applied or Advanced approved course list.
- Students who successfully complete Calculus have met graduation requirements regardless of the number of credits they have taken.
- Science (3 Credits):
- 2 Credits (from the four science foundation areas; Earth Systems, Biological Science, Chemistry, AP Computer Science, or Physics).
- 1 Credit (from the foundation courses or the applied or advanced science core list).
- Social Studies (3 Credits):
- 1 Credit (United States History)
- 0.5 Credit (Geography)
- 0.5 Credit (Civilization)
- 0.5 Credit (United States Government and Citizenship)
- 0.5 Credit (Local Education Agency (LEA) Discretion)
- Directed Coursework (3.5 Credits):
- 1.5 Credit (Fine Arts)
- 1 Credit (Career and Technical Education (CTE))
- 0.5 Credit (Digital Studies)
- 0.5 General Financial Literacy
- Physical Education Health (2 Credits):
- 0.5 Credit (Health)
- 0.5 Credit (Participation Skills)
- 0.5 Credit (Fitness for Life)
- 0.5 Credit (Individualized Lifetime Activities)
- Optional: 1.0 Credit Maximum (Team Sport/Athletic Participation)
- Can be used in place of Participation Skills or Individualized Lifetime Activities only.
- Required Electives (5.5 Credits)
- Total Credit Hours (24)
2. The 24 credit Diploma requires fewer elective requirements. Therefore, a student who is opting for this diploma will be required to complete all core classes prior to registering for electives beyond the 5.5 credits required for the basic 24-credit diploma.
3. All students opting for a 24-credit diploma must be a full-time student.
4. The 24-credit diploma will be an Emery School District diploma, not a specific high school diploma.
5. Students earning the 24-credit diploma will be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony.
6. Once the 24-credit diploma is awarded, a student may not continue to earn high school credit in order to “trade” their diploma for a 31-credit diploma.
A student may apply for the 24-credit diploma but opt out of that choice at any time, though the choice to pursue a 24-credit diploma should not be made unless it is unrealistic for the student to complete all requirements for the 31- credit diploma.
Students may request an application for an Emery School District Alternate Diploma through Emery High School and Green River High School counselor’s office.
Students with disabilities served by special education programs may have changes made to graduation requirements through individual IEPs to meet the unique educational needs. A student's IEP shall document the nature and extent of modification, substitutions or exemptions made to accommodate a student with disabilities.
Graduation requirements may be modified for individual students to achieve an appropriate route to student success when such modifications: 1) are consistent with the student's IEP or CCR or both; 2) are maintained in the student's file and include the parent's signature; and 3) maintain the integrity and rigor expected for high school graduation, as determined by the State Board of Education.
Previous Approvals: 6 April 1988,
15 July 2022