Future high school students faced with the prospect of having to graduate with a major may soon breathe a big sigh of relief.
The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is convening next week to discuss possibilities of changing or even dropping the high school major policy.
Before the plan, high school students had to earn passing grades in 23 units of English, math, and other topics, and pass the Graduate Exit Exam to receive their diplomas from their schools.
After the enactment of the policy, students statewide had to develop a five-year plan prior to their freshman year of high school. They have to take and have passing grades in six courses specifically required by their field of concentration. Under the current rule, those who fail to get passing grades do not receive their diplomas, starting with the class of 2007.
Parents and school leaders have been questioning the new rules since last year. They have e-mailed state officials with complaints that the rule forces the student to make a decision too early in life. Students who change their majors risk failing to meet graduation requirements and have to stay more than four years in school to graduate.
Nanette Grier, principal of Baton Rouge Magnet High School, said students and parents are dumbfounded by this new rule.
“There are a lot of unanswered questions that parents and students would like to have answered,” Grier said. “I think that the confusion has trickled down from the board members to parents and teachers alike. The rule that you have to finish your major to graduate has not been clearly conveyed to students.”
However, she said she has faith in the board and will comply with what they plan to do.
“We will comply with whatever BESE plans to do, and hope that everything works out to the benefit of the students.”
Polly Broussard, a member of Louisiana BESE, said that the policy did not convey the real intentions of what the board was trying to enact.
“High school students may be feeling disenchanted,” Broussard said. “But it was never our intentions to make the rule mandatory for all students, but rather provide them with a guide and focus for their career plans.”
She said the board’s intentions were to make students focus on two broad fields, technical and academic, and have them pick courses beneficial to their career plans.
“In effect, we are giving students the option of choosing technical courses which lead to a career outside of college, or the more rigorous academic courses which lead directly to college.”
Broussard said she will continue to monitor public perception on this issue, especially because parents continue to ask questions and voice their concerns.
Amid these concerns, Leslie Jacobs, another BESE member, said the issue will be discussed sometime next week, when board members will have the opportunity to voice their concerns.
“We are going to have a BESE revisiting,” Jacobs said. “The original purpose was to help this young person sit down and plan his future. We want to be able to broaden the horizons of the students.”
She said it is likely the board will decide that students will still pick a major, but they will not have to meet the specific requirements to graduate. In effect, they may be able to receive their diploma taking the standard 23 units.