Supporting Newcomers in Secondary Schools

Ohio welcomes newcomer students and families displaced by conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances every day.  The term “newcomer” often refers to students born outside the United States who have recently arrived and are within their first three years of enrollment in a U.S. school. Newcomers entering a school in the United States for the first time face unique challenges, and these challenges are often compounded for newcomers enrolling at the secondary level.

This webpage contains information and resources unique to serving newcomers in secondary schools. Visit the Enrolling and Supporting Displaced and Newcomer Students webpage for general information on supporting newcomers in Ohio’s schools. 

Enrollment in High School  

Ohio law allows students to enroll in high school through their 22^nd birthday. In addition to enrollment in a traditional high school, there are other educational options to earn an Adult Diploma or a High School Equivalence. The student and their family decide which educational option best fits their needs.

Course and Grade Placement Considerations 

Transcripts and other academic information may not be immediately available, but this should not delay a student’s enrollment. Schools can temporarily place a student until they can collect further data to make a final determination for grade placement.  

Schools can take the following steps to collect and analyze student records and prior educational experiences of newcomers: 

• Review the Ohio Language Usage Survey (LUS). The Language Usage Survey is used to assist in the identification of English learners. Additionally, the prior education questions of the survey can help identify whether a student is a newcomer and help schools understand their previous education experiences. This includes their personal experiences and the education program in their previous country of residence. It may be necessary to have further conversations with the family about the educational experiences of the student. The Supplemental Questions of the Language Usage Survey are a starting point when discussing educational experiences with families.
  • Some newcomer students experience interruptions to their formal education (SIFE). These interruptions may be due to civil unrest, migration, or other factors. Some students have never had the opportunity to participate in any type of schooling before entering school in the United States. To support students, consider implementing flexible education services and programs that focus comprehensively upon individual needs. 
• Evaluate transcripts. If transcripts are available, student courses can be evaluated according to local policies by site-based teams that may include guidance counselors, English learner TESOL specialists, administrators, and others with relevant knowledge to evaluate student competencies. Awarding of credit to students transferring into an Ohio high school is up to the receiving school or district. Recommended practices for evaluating international transcripts are:
  1. ​​Examine the transcript for authenticity.  
  2. Translate the transcript if needed. 
  3. Evaluate the transcript and follow established procedures for transferring credit. 
  • During this process it is important to understand the educational model of the country the student is coming from. Understanding the sending countries educational system can help in authenticating and evaluating the transcript. In some circumstances, students may have completed instruction in their sending country yet still be entitled to attend and graduate high school in the United States. Local policies can help determine whether some or all the completed coursework in a sending country satisfies the requirements of graduation in the United States. 
• ​Conduct placement testing as necessary. In addition to transcripts, schools can give diagnostic and placement tests to measure a student’s academic progress. The Student Readiness Toolkits provide gap analysis tools, practice tests, and readiness assessments for grades 3 to high school in alignment with state standards. The Readiness Assessments contain benchmark and checkpoint assessments that mirror Ohio state tests in the subjects of English Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. The Assessment Authoring System allows schools to design their own assessments using previously released questions from state tests. Local assessments can also be used to determine a student’s placement. Credit Flexibility can be used to provide credit when formal records do not exist. Information is available about credit flexibility in specific subjects. 
• Make the final determination. The final determination for grade and program placement should be made using all the data collected throughout the registration and intake process. Decisions made during the placement process should be communicated to the family in their preferred language. When a student enters the public school system for the first time, grade placement is a local decision. The Graduation Component Technical Documentation provides information on how students are assigned into graduation cohorts.  

Access to All Curricular and Extracurricular Programs 

Newcomer students can receive instruction within a newcomer program or within the general education setting. This includes access to language acquisition assistance for English learners and grade level curricula to meet graduation requirements. In addition to access to the general curriculum, newcomers also have access to other programs such as: 

• Gifted; 

• Special Education; 

• Advanced Placement (AP); 

• International Baccalaureate (IB); 

• College Credit Plus; and

• Career-Technical Education (CTE). 

Some newcomer students may face barriers to enrolling in certain programs such as college credit bearing classes and certain career-technical education programs due to the need to establish Ohio residency, work authorization, or documentation for obtaining a driver’s license.    

Participating in State Tests 

Ohio public schools administer the state assessments assigned to each student’s grade level, regardless of the student’s time in Ohio public schools. For newcomer students identified as English learners and/or who have disabilities, multiple supports and accommodations can be put in place to help them meaningfully engage with and access state assessments and demonstrate their knowledge in each of the content areas. Ohio's Accessibility Manual lists accommodations and supports available to English learners and students with disabilities participating in state tests. 

State law requires that Ohio schools administer the ACT or SAT to all students in grade 11 in the spring of the school year. However, some newcomers may be exempt from this requirement.   

Graduation Requirements for Newcomer Students 

Newcomer students in the class of 2023 and beyond have the same graduation requirements as all other students. Newcomers entering an Ohio high school for the first time from another country are considered out-of-state transfer students.  

Some newcomers may have difficulty with demonstrating competency on required end-of-course exams, either from interruptions in their formal education or their proficiency in English language acquisition. A student can begin work on alternative demonstrations of competency at any time in high school. The alternative demonstrations of competency can only be applied towards graduation once a student has met the remediation and reassessment requirement. 

Schools can consider alternative competencies to help newcomer students graduate. Newcomer students can demonstrate a Career Experience and Technical Skill and earn both the Industry-Recognized Credential Seal and the OhioMeansJobs-Readiness Seal. This allows the student to meet the alternative demonstration of competency while earning two seals required for demonstrating readiness. Schools can consider the strengths and interests of the student in considering this option. 

Below are additional considerations to assist newcomers in demonstrating readiness for graduation:   

• Seal of Biliteracy

  • If the newcomer is an English learner, earning at least a proficient score on the 9-12 Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment (OELPA) meets the English language arts proficiency requirement. This only applies for the Seal of Biliteracy. 
  • A student who is a newcomer may demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English to meet the world language proficiency requirement.  
• Honors Diploma Seal 
  • Explore the assets and experiences of each newcomer student to earn one of the six honor diploma seals.  
  • All honors diplomas require world language credit. Some newcomer students may earn world language credit through credit flexibility.  
• Military Enlistment Seal 
  • All students may participate in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC).  
  • Military enlistment has citizenship and residency requirements. Contact a local recruiter for more information.  
• Local Seals 
  • All students can earn one locally-defined diploma seal. These seals are Community Service, Student Engagement, and Fine and Performing Arts. The unique experiences and assets of newcomer students can be taken into consideration when adopting guidelines.  
  • Community service projects, artwork, and performances can be used to showcase a newcomer’s experiences and culture while also building connections in the community. ​

Contact the Office of Graduate Success at gradrequirements@education.ohio.gov for further assistance. 

Human Trafficking Concerns 

Newcomer students may be susceptible to human trafficking. Forms of human trafficking include sex and labor trafficking. The National Trafficking Hotline offers awareness materials in 23 languages. The Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force provides information and resources. Some of the resources offered are: 

• Human Trafficking Screening Tools
• Anti-Trafficking Coalitions, which provide local contacts by county for different anti-trafficking efforts in the state. 
• Human Trafficking Training, a 50-minute online training module on the signs and indicators of human trafficking.  

If you feel a student is the victim of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline at 888-373-7888 and/or the state hotline at 1-844-363-6448. This hotline can help you determine whether you have encountered victims of human trafficking and identify local resources available in your community to help victims. If there is an immediate threat of harm, call 911.  

Resources 

• Developing Educator Expertise to Work with Adolescent English Learners 
• Newcomer Toolkit from National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition 
• Registering and Enrolling Refugee and Immigrant Students in High Schools (OELA webinar)  
• Supporting High School Completion by Immigrants and Refugees  
• Welcoming, Registering, and Supporting Newcomer Students: A Toolkit for Educators of Immigrant and Refugee Students in Secondary Schools 

Last Modified: 4/25/2025 12:18:19 PM

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