Information on this page is for guidance purposes only
Standard High School Diploma Requirements
Diplomas for HPA High School students are not required, but they are recommended. Some requirements must first be met to graduate from HPA and receive a high school diploma. The student must be fully enrolled in 12th grade, at least 16 years old, and have completed the minimum 180 days of attendance while enrolled at HPA. Because our school year begins on September 1st, the earliest a student can graduate is March 1st. If the student enrolled after March 1st, they may graduate only after the required 180 attendance days have been met while enrolled in HPA. Once all these requirements have been met, you may graduate your student and order a diploma. The instructions for both are laid out below. If you have any questions, please contact us.
To order a diploma, first fill out and request signed transcripts. Next, from your dashboard, click STUDENTS, then WITHDRAW/GRADUATE next to the graduating student’s name. We will process the graduation and email you a graduation verification email. After you have received that email, you may click the diploma link on the documents page of your account dashboard. There is a nominal processing fee for all diplomas. If you are a former HPA graduate, you must have met the same requirements as current students. These will be verified before a diploma is issued. Please visit the alumni page to order your diploma and transcripts. If you are unsure whether or not we already have them on file, please contact us before placing an order.
When the diploma is made, a hard copy will be mailed to the address you put on the order form, and a digital printable copy will be uploaded to your account and emailed to you. Then, you will need to either change your family plan to remove the student from your subscription or cancel your subscription so you are not charged for the student in the future. DO NOT change your plan before their enrollment status has been changed from “enrolled” to “withdrawn.”
An academic diploma is sometimes required, such as when the student applies for the Bright Futures Scholarship, enters college, or joins the military. If your student wishes to receive an academic high school diploma from HPA, they must meet the above requirements AND complete the Florida DOE requirements for a standard (24-credit) diploma. Course requirements for graduation are frequently updated and are recorded based on the year a student enters 9th grade. You can view graduation course requirements on the Florida DOE site. They also must have full high school transcripts (see below).
While it is neither accredited nor a GED, it is widely accepted by most schools, institutions, military services, etc. Because we are not an accredited school, the best course of action would be to contact the institution in question to find out precisely what they require, as all schools are different. If they need an accredited diploma, they may want to withdraw from HPA and register with the county for the last year of high school. We highly suggest you contact HSLDA to let them know you were denied. It is rare, but they have previously seen and dealt with this issue of home education rights.
From the Florida Department of Education regarding accreditation and diplomas:
There is no state law requiring private schools to be accredited. The Florida Department of Education does not accredit, regulate, approve, or license private high schools. Additionally, the Florida Department of Education does not officially recognize any agencies that accredit private schools. Many organizations with widely variable quality standards and program requirements accredit private schools. The acceptance of diplomas from private schools will be subject to the requirements of the receiving educational institution or employer.
Standard High School Transcript Requirements
Transcripts for HPA High School students are not required, but they are HIGHLY recommended. One never knows where life will lead for the students. We are often contacted by former students who need transcripts later in life, so it’s best to prepare them well for their futures now so they do not have to scramble later if needed.
We offer Parchment Digital Credential Service to our current and former students for official high school transcript document ordering and graduation verification services. Your transcripts will be securely saved with Parchment, allowing online access to request electronic transcripts accepted by over 2000 institutions.
To receive transcripts for current students, you must first enter your high school student’s course information into our transcript template on your HPA dashboard. After filling it out and submitting it, request signature to make it “official.” You may also print an unsigned- “unofficial” copy for yourself anytime for free. If an “official” signed and sealed copy is needed, it may be ordered from and delivered via Parchment for a nominal fee. If a university, college, military recruiter, or other institution needs to access it for education verification, they may do so easily via Parchment as well.
Former students may also order copies of their transcripts via Parchment, provided we have a transcript on file. If you are a former student and need a copy of your transcripts, please contact us before placing an order with Parchment. If we do not have transcripts for you, you must order them from us for a small processing fee; then they will be uploaded to Parchment for retrieval.
Below are the standard accepted transcript requirements for college entry in Florida. Your State or program may vary. The requirements for college entry can vary greatly depending on the institution or program in question. Best practices would be to contact the program, school, college, university, or institution to inquire about the prerequisites and requirements for the specific degree, program, or career the student wishes to pursue.
These are not necessarily required of every program but are guidelines to help those students wishing to attend college or university after graduation. The requirements below are the standards set by the State of Florida for graduation from public school; therefore, they are the standard accepted by most institutions. There are NO current State-Mandated graduation requirements for homeschooled or private school students.
We advise that you check with the institution or program the student wishes to attend after high school for their specific prerequisites and transcript requirements. Do this as early in the high school career as possible and adjust the education to suit those requirements.
- Earn a standard high school diploma with a minimum 2.5 GPA in 18 core academic courses, which are:
- 4 courses in English (at least three with substantial writing)
- 4 courses in math (Algebra I and higher level courses)
- 3 courses in natural science (at least two with a lab)
- 3 courses in social studies
- 2 courses in the same foreign language
- 2 electives
Military Requirements
Department of Defense Tier I Education
Generally, Tier I education status applies to individuals who receive a diploma from a legally operating secondary school or otherwise complete a program of secondary education in compliance with the education laws of the state in which the applicant resides. The following provides greater details and credential requirements.
High School Diploma Graduate (Traditional)
A diploma issued to a graduate of a public, private, or DoDEA 12-year, “traditional,” credit-based day program of classroom instruction; this includes individuals who met all requirements for graduation but failed to pass mandated exit exams. Minimum Requirements;
- Classroom Instruction. You must have successfully completed four academic years of classroom instruction. An academic year is considered a minimum of 120 hours of classroom instruction per academic course to earn a full credit. To earn a half-credit, you must have completed a minimum of 60 hours of classroom instruction.
- Credit-based. Applicants must meet the minimum credit requirements in all subjects for high school graduation, as determined by the local school system.
- Graduation Credential. The graduation credential must have been issued by the high school in which you were enrolled and attending at the time you completed the graduation requirements.
Charter school graduates
Fulfillment of both course and credit requirements of a traditional graded day program of classroom instruction.
High School Senior
An individual attending high school as a senior. Minimum Requirements:
High school students who have completed their junior year and earned at least 70 percent of the required graduation credits are granted senior status upon graduating the current senior class.
Senior status must be verified prior to DEP enlistment using the High School Senior Graduate Status Verification document, which must be signed and dated by an authorized school official.
High school juniors who will be mid-year graduates can enlist in the DEP provided they are 17 years of age, have completed at least 70 percent of the required credits for graduation, and have a properly executed and verified high school senior or graduate status verification document.
CPalms Standards for Florida
CPALMS is the State of Florida’s official source for standards information and course descriptions. It provides access to thousands of standards-aligned, free, and high-quality instructional/educational resources developed specifically for the standards and vetted through our rigorous review process. CPALMS also provides several state-of-the-art curriculum planning and professional development apps/tools to help educators effectively implement the standards. CPALMS.org was built primarily for Florida’s educators, but it transformed into a global resource with users from more than 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Click the buttons or watch the video on the left to learn more about the different programs and tools.
CPALMS instructional and educational resources are free to all Florida public school teachers. A paid subscription is available for all other educators at http://www.cpalms.com.
The information and tools are available for all the subjects, but our resource development programs are currently focused on mathematics, English language arts, social studies, and science.
The graphics below are from the Florida Department of Education. They show the diploma requirement for Florida public schools. Your homeschooling transcripts are NOT required to fit into these public schools’ standards, but they are a good guideline for reference, especially if the student wishes to go to college.
If the student is interested in applying for the Bright Futures Scholarship, the transcript must also contain the specific course numbers required by Bright Futures. In that case, the transcript will be filled out as usual and you will need to contact us to set up a counseling appointment to add the course numbers and adjust the transcripts as required to meet the requirements of Bright Futures. If you are unsure what courses are required, check with the program the student will enter to determine their requirements before filling out the transcript. If applying for Bright Futures, you must use the courses/course numbers on the Bright Futures link below.
Here is the link to the specific course numbers the Bright Futures Scholarship requires.
Below are links to the Bright Futures Eligiblity Handbook and forms you will need to document your community service hours.
Bright Futures Student Handbook for Initial Eligibility Requirements.
Bright Futures Community Service or Paid Work Approval Form
Bright Futures Community Service or Paid Work Log and Reflection Form
Bright Futures Community Service or Paid Work HPA Handbook
Our College Board School Code (CEEB): 457283
(This page is under construction. More information for High Schoolers, including details regarding diplomas, transcripts, dual enrollment, etc., will be coming soon!)