High School Diplomas.  To graduate from high school, a student must satisfy requirements set by the State Board of Education (SBE), satisfy credit requirements, complete a High School and Beyond Plan, and meet the requirements of a graduation pathway.  A student must also meet any additional requirements set by the student's public high school or school district.

Upon students' satisfactory completion of all local and state graduation requirements, school districts must issue diplomas to students signifying graduation from high school.

In 2002, the Legislature gave districts the ability to issue a high school diploma to certain groups of veterans of the armed forces, including to an individual on behalf of a deceased veteran.

At the request of a parent, guardian, or custodian, a school district may issue a high school diploma to a deceased student if the student:

• was enrolled in a public school in the district at the time of death;
• was deemed on-track to graduation before the time of death; and
• died after after matriculating into high school.

The high school diploma must bear the inscription "honoris causa" and may not be issued before the graduation date of the class in which the student was enrolled. 

Districts are not required to award the diploma at the same ceremony or event as other students.  The act does not limit the retroactive issuance of a high school diploma. 

Diplomas issued under this process may not be applied toward student graduation counts or for any other purpose of federal and state accountability data collection.

The act may be known and cited as Evitan's Law.