The state school board is expected to vote on new recommendations for high school graduation requirements Thursday. This comes as hundreds of student might not be able to graduate under the existing standards.
The state school superintendent has proposed a plan that has several options for seniors to graduate, including tests, final projects, state courses and grade point average. But that would be a permanent change – and non-voting board member and state Sen. Peggy Lehner says there’s a crisis coming that needs to be addressed now.
“I expect that some sort of resolution will be met on the temporary piece. We may not get the permanent one done until starting next year,” Lehner said.
This year’s seniors are the first to face tougher graduation standards that were delayed last year because thousands of students were thought to be unlikely to reach them. Lehner says because the state is still adjusting to new requirements and tests, it appears the same situation is developing again.