NO MERCY FOR LOUISIANA STUDENTS HAVING TO GRADUATE FROM FLORIDA SCHOOLS

Hurricane Katrina displaced many school-age students from Louisiana, and their high school seniors had already taken the state's standardized tests required for graduation, the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) and the Graduation Exit Exam. So, one would think that those results would simply be transferred with their grades from their previous schools when they relocated to Florida, right?

Wrong.

The Florida Department of Education has made some consessions to displaced students, including relaxing rules for admission. But not when it comes to the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT).

If a senior from Louisiana wants a Florida diploma, they will have to pass the FCAT, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

"It's necessary that we hold true to the statute," said department spokeswoman Michelle Dixon.

"We feel that the FCAT tests basic skills these students would have learned."

Making a special exception for displaced students, Louisiana says these students will be eligible to get Louisiana diplomas even if they finish the school year elsewhere.

But Louisiana transcripts and test results might have been lost to Katrina's floods.

Most recent DOE figures show that 5,687 displaced students attend Florida schools. It is not clear how many are high school seniors, but school officials estimate about 100 are in the Tampa Bay area.