The U.S. Department of Education denied Indiana’s request to count thousands of the state’s basic high school diplomas known as general diplomas.

The State Department of Education released 2017 graduation rate data Friday, showing numbers slightly lower than the previous year.

The majority of Indiana high school students already complete a diploma that meets the new requirements.

With graduation rates at risk, the Indiana Department of Education has drafted a federal waiver to keep a new definition from causing major problems in schools.

Indiana's Congressional delegation wants the federal education department to give the state more time to prepare before changes to high school diplomas begin.

Indiana’s general diploma will no longer be considered when calculating school and district graduation rates, state officials announced Friday.

According to a new study from the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, black students who have one black teacher in elementary school are less likely to drop out.

The Indiana Department of Education said Thursday that 89 percent of students graduated last year, compared to 88.8 percent in 2015.

Indiana’s four-year high school graduation rate slipped by less than one percentage point in two main categories, according to state data released Friday.