I submitted the following question to TEA:

If a GED recipient returns to a district in the school start window to receive advice/counseling regarding their plans after receiving their GED, can they be coded as 24 or some other leaver code so that they do not count as GED recipients?

Here is the response I received:

Regarding GED recipients and other leaver codes (or any leaver code for that matter): if a student was served in the prior year (2008-09), yes, a leaver code can be submitted (in fall 2009) even if the student also received a GED.



Essentially, the only way a student will have a final status of GED is if their last leaver record was 98 (dropout). The only time a leaver record can be submitted for a student is when the student is served in the previous school year. So if a student was served in 2008-2009 and earned their GED before August 31, 2009 and returned for counseling during the 2008-2009 school year (including the summer) their leaver record (submitted in Fall 2009) can be changed from 98 to some other appropriate leaver code (documentation is the key).

However, if the student was not served in 2008-2009 and earned their GED, the last opportunity to submit a leaver record for that student has passed. Even if they return for counseling, a leaver record cannot be submitted for them if they were not served by the district in the previous year.

The only way to recover a drop-out in the 5th year is to find them or get them re-enrolled within the school start window of 2009-2010. Otherwise there is no opportunity to submit a different leaver record.

If the dropout is part of a later cohort (Class of 2010 and beyond) and they have earned their GED, you can recover them by getting them to enroll for counseling - even for a short time - regarding their education plans since receiving their GED. In this case the student is served in the year they are counseled and will require a leaver record to be submitted when they withdraw. Use of appropriate leaver codes at this point along with documentation are the key to not having this GED recipient held against you.

I hope this is helpful!