There’s a bill that has been approved in the Missouri House and is awaiting Senate approval that would create four adult high schools in the state. The objective is to improve Missouri’s high school graduation rate, which is slightly below the national average.Supporters of the bill say there is a stigma if you don’t have a regular high school diploma, but only have a GED, which is testing to achieve a high school diploma.We don’t doubt studies that show high school graduates earn more than those workers who didn’t graduate from high school. It also is true that persons seeking a job who don’t have a high school diploma are more likely to be passed over in favor of applicants with a diploma.House Bill 680 provides that four adult high schools would be established where adults 21 years and older could earn a high school diploma. The schools also would provide workshops with local community colleges and other programs to teach skills and techniques necessary for job training.Community colleges already have programs to teach job skills, and specialized classes to teach skills needed by local industries.The money that would be required to create adult high schools could be put to better use by providing that money to existing community colleges where training programs already exist, or to vo-tech programs offered by high schools.We have never heard an employer say he or she denied a job to a person who had a GED diploma rather than one given at a regular high school. On the other hand, we know of GED graduates who are highly motivated and who have been successful in their jobs. There are GED diploma-holders who went on to college and excelled in their higher education pursuits.The Senate should say no to this bill.