High school graduation cap

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has signed a bill into law that will give Georgians who were denied their high school diplomas an opportunity to petition for one.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday that the bill Deal signed retroactively eliminates tests that students are no longer required to graduate. The bill includes the Georgia High School Graduation Test, which was implemented in 1994 and was dropped in 2011.

The newspaper reports that former students who were denied their diplomas may petition the local school board where they were last enrolled instead of pursuing a State Board of Education waiver process.

Deal says more than 9,000 Georgians may now be eligible for their high school diplomas.

Tags: diploma bill, graduation bill, students can petition for diploma