High School

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 DO NOT change your plan before their enrollment status has been changed from “enrolled” to “withdrawn.”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