New legislation will help Iowans reach more employment opportunities.

House File 473 will increase the chances for some people to earn a high-school equivalency diploma.

According to a report by the State Board of Education, 68 percent of all jobs in Iowa will require some postsecondary training or education by 2025. The Iowa Department of Education reports that 209,740 Iowans over the age of 18 do not have a high-school diploma or equivalency as of January. These Iowans will not be qualified to hold most jobs available in the state without a high-school diploma or equivalency.

Jeremy Varner, the division administrator of the Education Department, said over the past 70 to 75 years, Iowa only had one option to obtain a high-school equivalency diploma, which was to pass a HiSET assessment, a test battery that awards high-school equivalency diplomas.

“For seven decades, that was the GED everyone was familiar with,” he said. “A few years ago, we switched assessments to the HiSET assessment. And that test battery was basically the only way of students to obtain an equivalency diploma if they dropped out of high school or didn’t get a normal high-school diploma.”

Varner said the department noticed other states have different ways for students to demonstrate they have the knowledge and skills equivalent to the diploma.

“We convened a task force this last year to study the issue and to make recommendations,” he said.

The task force made the suggestions to grow a higher-skilled labor force, because a diploma is the key to economic security and an important steppingstone in the education pathway, Varner said. The task force also stated the HiSET assessment was not the best choice for all students.

Advocacy Officer Dave Stone of the United Way of Central Iowa, an organization that brings together local nonprofits, businesses, elected officials, and community leaders, said some folks are not successful with a one assessment. So the intent of the bill was to provide numerous pathways for people to obtain high-school diplomas.

“We know that the HiSET exam is a rather difficult exam,” he said. “Folks are successful with it, and we run a program called ‘Bridges to Success’ here at United Way that helps folks attaining their HiSET exam through coaching, instruction, and practice testing prior to the exam itself.”

Phillip Jeneary, the government-relations director of the Iowa Association of School Boards, said members support the bill and advocated for its passage.

“We felt that the bill further allows students additional routes to obtain their high-school diplomas,” he said.

Jeneary said he believes the bill will give students a chance to secure an equivalency diploma after circumstances such as dropping out or not excelling in school.

Elisabeth Buck, the chief community-impact officer of United Way of Central Iowa, said the organization became involved with the issue because one of its focus areas is to ensure Iowans are financially self-sufficient.