High School Planning

Early graduation requires careful planning with your school counselor.  The information below is a starting place.  You will need to meet with your counselor to create a plan and sign an early graduation contract.  Information shared below can also be found in depth on our Early Graduation website. 

Early Graduation for Athletes
Athletes who wish to graduate early for enrollment with a college or recruiting institution must meet with their AHS Head Coach before submitting an early graduation request. You will also need to provide proof of your intent to enroll with the recruiting institution.

Please note: Early graduation may require you to complete courses independently, either during the school year or over the summer, which could involve additional costs. Any online classes taken during the school year will count toward UIL eligibility grade checks.

A student who completes all requirements for high school graduation prior to the end of the school year of his/her graduation cohort may be eligible to apply for Early Graduation.

Board policy EIF(LEGAL) states the following:
“A parent is entitled to request, with the expectation that the request will not be unreasonably denied, that the
parent’s child be permitted to graduate from high school earlier than the child would normally graduate, if the
child completes each course required for graduation. The decision of a board concerning the request is final and
may not be appealed.” Education Code 26.003(a)(3)(C), (b)

Two early graduation plans are available to high school students:

Traditional Early Graduation

This plan requires successful completion of all required courses in the Foundation Plus Endorsement high school
graduation program (minimum of 26 credits). Additional criteria include:

• Passing all required state assessments
• Fulfilling the Speech requirement (embedded in High School English courses), Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation training (offered on a campus-selected date), and Training on Proper Interaction with Peace officers (offered on a campus-selected date)
• Completing a FAFSA or TASFA college financial aid application
• The student must meet a state accountability CCMR indicator or participate in college readiness assessment at each opportunity provided by the high school

Texas First Early High School Completion Program (Texas First Diploma)

This plan requires several high achievement criteria to be met in addition to course credit criteria, and it requires a
significant amount of advance planning, which may include participation in courses or assessments not typically taken
prior to the student’s junior year. All requirements must be met BEFORE a student's graduation date. 

Criteria include:

• Texas residency
• FAFSA or TASFA completion
• At least 22 high school credits by any permissible method, including credit by examination (please see additional details on the Texas First Diploma application)
• Final Grade Point Average (GPA) equivalent to 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale
• Overall score in at least the 80th percentile on one or more of the following assessments:
• ACT, SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, TSIA/TSIA2, GED
• Or, alternatively, a GPA in the top 10 percent of the student’s class
• Satisfactory level of performance as defined by the Commissioner of Education on STAAR EOC exams (please see additional details on the Texas First Diploma application pages)
• Demonstration of mastery of each subject area of English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and a Language Other Than English (LOTE) via credit earned in a course in the core curriculum of an institution of higher education in which the student received at least a C, or meeting the standards on the assessments set out in Figure
• 1 (please see details on the Texas First Diploma application)
• The student must provide an official copy of their assessment results, as applicable, to their school counselor to receive credit for the assessments required to receive early graduation from the program

Aledo ISD Early Graduation Information Packet