Kansas Board of Education Continues High School Graduation Debate
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A statewide review of Kansas’ high school graduation requirements could last for months, even if there is an eventual change.
On Tuesday, the Kansas Board of Education heard a fall update from the school board’s Randy Watson Graduation Requirements Task Force.
The group, which has been meeting for the past 15 months, said in May that it would keep the minimum graduation credits at 21 statewide, but change the way some types of classes count toward that minimum. We have returned a provisional proposal.
How Kansas High School Graduation Requirements May Change
Capital-Journal previously reported that these recommended changes include:
• Communications (4 units) — Instead of requiring the full 4 units of English Arts, its requirements are reduced to 3.5 units, and half the units of Communication (Speech, Debating, Forensics, Public Speaking, etc.) round out the category at 4 units.
• Society and Humanities (4) — This requirement has been reorganized from 3 credits in History and Government and 1 credit in Fine Arts to 2.5 credits in Social Studies (World and U.S. History, Government) and 0.5 credits in Fine Arts (Music, Dance, Arts, Drama) will be In addition, one “Humanities/Arts” unit has been added.
• Stem (7) — Three credits in Science and three credits in Mathematics are required to graduate under the current requirements. The task force recommends maintaining these 6 credits and adding 1 credit in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics electives. Computer science can also play this role.
• Employability and life skills (6) — Current graduation standards require 1 credit in physical education and 6 other electives. Although the Task Force’s first recommendation is to only require 0.5 credits in physical education, students should be encouraged to take 0.5 credits in health, personal finances or You must also specifically take 0.5 units of financial literacy.
As part of the same proposed recommendation, another requirement includes having Kansas high school students acquire at least two marketable assets, or demonstrations of skills and experience outside the classroom.
These asset types are:
• Real world assets: Experiences outside the classroom, including youth apprenticeships, community service, industry-recognized certifications, Eagle Scout and Gold Award achievements, and extra-curricular activities.
• Employability and life skills: ACT score greater than 21; 9 hours of college credit; high state assessment score; completion of the Regents Scholars curriculum; Advanced Placement score greater than 3 Etc.
In addition, the state board can implement a request from the Kansas Board of Regents to require all high school students to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This is required by most universities when making financial aid decisions.
However, the Task Force’s recommendations also include provisions that allow individual students, families, or even schools to exempt certain students.
All requirements are minimal and local boards can add more credits. Several school districts temporarily lowered graduation requirements to the state minimum of 21 credits in the early months of the pandemic, and many are doing so.
But Kansas Board of Education members aren’t sure about the process
After the Graduation Requirements Task Force’s tentative proposal was put out in May, the state board was immediately criticized by several groups.
The state school board on Tuesday quashed some of those concerns and others. She said she was still unsatisfied with what she called the lack of data on the proposal’s impact, such as the number of
Commission member Betty Arnold (D-Wichita) was excited when the commission was first formed, but said the proposal didn’t address many of the needs of the 40% of Kansas public school students. He said he lost a lot of that energy when he realized that. It doesn’t seem like you’re on track for graduation.
“I’m not one of those people who wants to come forward and say they’ve screwed up here, but if they’re going to make changes that affect anything, they have to realize there’s an elephant in the room,” she said. Told. .
Another Wichita Democrat on the committee, Jim McNeice, who co-chaired the task force, told Arnold and others that the graduation requirement was “not as a hurdle, but as a hurdle for people in their local district to struggle with.” as a door to find ways to help the students.
“The status quo issue is coming and fighting us,” he said. “We have a mindset of winners and losers, and we want all children to be winners, not losers.
“If we’re going to change the graduation rate, it’s not because we teach harder and run faster,” he continued. The goal is post-secondary success.”
Changes to Kansas high school graduation requirements could be months away if they come
Debate over the past year on changes to graduation requirements ended when the Kansas Board of Education decided to amend the requirements by adding one credit in fine arts but not change the total number of credits required. First time in at least 20 years.
McNiece said the task force discussed adding to the state’s minimum of 21 credits, but ultimately decided against the recommendation.
Some student groups, such as mobile foster students and juvenile justice system children, can already afford to meet the state minimum of 21 credits, regardless of local school district requirements.
Watson told the board that changes from the board need to be made by June 1, 2023 to affect the current cohort of eighth graders who graduate high school in 2027.
In any event, the board appeared to have some concerns about Tuesday’s proposal, but the issue was not scheduled for a vote. told the Board that it could still take several months, and said the proposal would not be on the agenda for a decision in October.
The board can decide to accept the recommendations, return the work to the task force, or reject the changes, just as the predecessor board did 20 years ago.
McNeice acknowledged that the board would have difficult discussions ahead of it, but it was to be expected for “one of the most important transition exercises we’re doing universally across the United States.”
“When students walk through that stage, they are welcomed into adulthood,” he said. What we’re talking about are those specific things and what they mean moving forward.
Rafael Garcia is an educational reporter for Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at rgarcia@cjonline.com or by phone at 785-289-5325. Follow @byRafaelGarcia on Twitter.
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