INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ Advocates for Indiana's special-needs students worry that a proposed revamping of the state's diploma system could make it much harder for them to get a high school diploma.

The proposals would require special-needs students to take more math courses and meet a number of new requirements.

Advocates say their concerns about those changes are heightened because not all Indiana school districts offer the current basic-level diploma. And if they do, they impose additional graduation requirements on students.

The Indianapolis Star reports (http://indy.st/1GAaxFd) that special-needs students who don't meet those requirements often leave school with a certificate, which doesn't carry as much clout as a diploma during job searches.

The State Board of Education must act by Dec. 1 on the changes that would begin for the class of 2022.