students with an individualized education program or 504 plan are able to obtain a local diploma through 'safety nets'. similar to the regents diploma, the local diploma is recognized as a high school diploma, which would allow the student to attend college, enroll in the military, and have jobs that require a high school diploma. general education students can only obtain the local diploma by appealing 2 regents exams. students with disabilities must still have the appropriate number of credits to graduate.