The President’s Education Award has ended. Your spring awards don’t have to.
The U.S. Department of Education discontinued the President’s Education Awards Program in September 2026, so there are no gold or silver seal certificates for spring 2027. Laurelroll is building a free replacement: you choose the students, and every certificate gets a code anyone can check.
The end of the program is shown on ed.gov (checked 22 Oct 2026). NAESP, which sold the pins and folders, shows the same notice.
Laurelroll’s academic awards are our own recognition. They are not the President’s Education Award and not a government award.
What ended, and what didn’t
The program gave schools two certificates for graduating students in grades K to 12, at public, private and military base schools and in homeschool programs:
- Academic Excellence (gold seal), for high academic performance.
- Academic Achievement (silver seal), for strong growth, improvement, commitment or intellectual development.
Principals chose the students, often with teachers’ input, and handed out the awards at spring assemblies and graduations. The certificates, letters and orders for pins and folders have stopped. Your school can still recognize the same students in its own name. The national recognition programs the Department kept pick a small number of students across the country; they do not replace an award every school can give.
Source: ed.gov program FAQ, page last reviewed 14 Oct 2026, checked 22 Oct 2026.
Coming in January 2027: free academic awards
Built on the same engine our volunteer awards already use. Free for every school, with no account.
- 1
Paste your list of students
Names from your spreadsheet, each with Excellence or Achievement and a grade. Nothing else: no grades, scores, birth dates or emails.
- 2
Your principal issues them
Write the school’s criteria in one line, such as “GPA of 3.5 or higher, or a teacher’s recommendation”. The principal confirms the students met them, and that line goes on every certificate.
- 3
Print them all for the ceremony
One click prints every certificate, each with a QR code and a code that opens its verify page. Show an honor roll if you want one: first names and last initials only, hidden from search engines.
| Certificate template | Laurelroll academic awards | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free |
| Whole class at once | Mail merge | Paste a list, print all |
| Someone can check it later | No, anyone can type a certificate | Yes, verify page and QR code on each |
| States the criteria | If you add them | On every certificate |
| Honor roll for your website or lobby | No | Optional, first names and initials only |
| Student data kept | Whatever you type | Names only |
What to do this school year
- Keep your criteria. If your school used the old gold and silver criteria, write them down now so teachers can keep nominating the same way.
- Tell families early. Say the national certificate has ended and that the school will still recognize students this spring.
- Collect your list by April. Names, Excellence or Achievement, and grade are all you will need.
- Come back in January. The tool opens on this page. New guides appear in our guides and their feed.
Laurelroll is a free, not-for-profit project. Its academic awards are our own recognition, not the President’s Education Award, and no government agency endorses them.
Questions
Is the President’s Education Awards Program coming back?
Nothing says so. The Department of Education marked its program pages as historical and says it ended the program in September 2026. Check ed.gov for any change.
When can our school issue awards on Laurelroll?
The academic awards open here in January 2027, in time for spring ceremonies. Until then this page explains what is coming.
What will it cost?
Nothing. No fee per student, no subscription and no account. Laurelroll is run not-for-profit.
Who decides which students get an award?
Your principal, as before. Laurelroll never sees grades or test scores. The principal confirms the school’s own criteria were met, and each certificate states those criteria.
Will students’ names be public?
Only on each certificate’s verify page, which needs its code. A school can choose to show an honor roll, which lists first names and last initials only and is hidden from search engines.
Can homeschool families use it?
Yes. The parent-educator issues the award for their home school, and the certificate says so plainly.
Is this the President’s Education Award?
No. It is a free recognition from Laurelroll, a not-for-profit project. It is not a government award and is not endorsed by any government agency.