How to Report Student Grad Plan
How to Report Student Graduation Plans – Updated Guidance 4/14/2026
Indiana Code IC 20‑30‑4‑2 requires that every student develop a graduation plan by the end of 8th grade.
The plan must be developed in consultation with the student’s school counselor.
Parental consultation must be sought as part of the planning process.
The completed plan becomes part of the student’s permanent school record.
The plan must be accessible to parents under FERPA.
The Commission for Higher Education (CHE) has updated the Grad Plan template on Learn More Indiana to align with the new Indiana diploma requirements. As a reminder, graduation plans are required for students by the end of 8th grade under IC 20‑30‑4‑2. This template may also be used for the new optional 7th‑grade accountability metric that requires completion of the graduation plan by the end of 7th grade.
Schools may use their own graduation plan as long as it meets the requirements outlined in IC 20‑30‑4‑2. Graduation plans and parent approval are collected and retained locally and are not reported to Data Exchange.
Graduation Plan Defined:
Graduation Plans are collected and retained locally and they are not reported to Data Exchange. There is a Graduation Plan template available on Learn More Indiana. This template can be used for grade levels 7-12.
Grad Plan Indicator Defined:
A Grad Plan indicator is the mechanism by which an LEA will report to IDOE that an official Graduation Plan has been collected and retained locally. The Grad Plan indicator is the data element that is reported to Data Exchange to reflect this.
Clarification: Graduation Plan vs. Grad Plan indicator
Reporting expectations for 25-26 school year focused on the student’s intended diploma type, which was delivered via the grad plan indicator record during the 9th‑grade year. While statute has long required 8th‑grade students to complete a Graduation Plan and retain documentation locally, Data Exchange did not previously collect Grad Plan indicator records for students prior to grade 9.
Schools will now have flexibility regarding when they report the Graduation Plan indicator to Data Exchange. Schools may choose to report a student’s Grad Plan indicator during the 8th‑grade year or the 9th‑grade year. However, a Graduation Plan indicator must be submitted to Data Exchange no later than the end of the student’s 9th‑grade year.
Optional Submission for Accountability
Under the new proposed Accountability model, schools may earn success points for students with a graduation plan by the end of grade 7. While this is an optional submission, schools must report the graduation plan indicator to Data Exchange for 7th‑grade students to be included in the Accountability metric. The graduation plan should be collected and retained locally.
Graduation Plan Indicator Determination
Grad Plans may be reported to Data Exchange for students in cohort 2031 and prior.
Students may have more than one grad plan if they intend to pursue more than one Indiana diploma pathway.
Graduation plans may be updated any time a student’s intent changes by ending one plan and beginning another.
Graduation Plan Indicator Record Elements
Report a grad plan record for each student with their identified graduation school year.
Report the begin date of when the grad plan is identified.
Report the end date if the grad plan is being changed.
Up to two grad plans may be reported for each student.
Provide the graduation plan(s) using one of the allowable descriptors in the chart below.
Graduation Plan Indicator Submission to Data Exchange
Grad Plan indicators may be submitted to Data Exchange via Student Information System (SIS). See SIS vendor support document to locate the resource for submission of the grad plan indicator within the software.
Currently, not all SIS vendors have the capability to send grad plans indicators for grades 7 and 8.
If SIS vendor is not currently sending grad plan indicators for grades 7 or 8 and the LEA is electing to report the optional grad plan indicator for grade 7 to receive success points under the new proposed accountability model, schools may utilize template 036. The template and template instructions can be found here under Grad Plan.
Before uploading a template, please be sure you are aware if the SIS has the capability of sending through the software. These records should not be sent from both the SIS and via template.