Beginning with next year’s freshmen, Lawrence school district high schoolers must pass an additional STEM credit and a financial planning course to graduate, among other new requirements.
The Lawrence school board on Monday unanimously approved the district’s recommendation to require 24 units of credit to graduate. That’s 3 more units of credit than the current amount of 21.
New graduation requirements created by a state task force and approved in November 2022 by the Kansas State Board of Education will go into effect with the Class of 2028 — students who will start as freshmen in August. It’ll mark the first shift in graduation requirements across the state in almost 20 years.
Local school boards have been tasked with establishing their own policies that enforce KSBE’s minimum requirements. They can increase the number of units of credit required for graduation or add requirements as long as those minimums are met.
Currently, the Lawrence school district requires graduating students to complete 4 units of English language arts, 3 units of math, 3 units of science, 3 units of history and government, 1 unit of fine arts, 1 unit of physical education and 8 units of electives. For graduating classes that attended high school amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the district had reduced requirements to 6 units of electives, on par with what the state required.
Board President Kelly Jones was hesitant to raise the required units of credit. She said after reducing to 21 units of credit, more students were taking Jayhawk Blueprint college readiness courses and that more students were graduating with more than the required units of credit.
“Our graduation rates went up by about 5% when we reduced the credit hours to 21 from 23,” Jones said. “So I’m wondering, now will we see an impact that would negatively impact graduation rates by increasing the credit hours beyond what’s required by the state?”
Patrick Kelly, the district’s chief academic officer, said the district has done a better job identifying individual needs to keep students on track. He credited the work at the College and Career Center as well as the Lawrence Virtual School for increased graduation rates, as well.
Superintendent Anthony Lewis added that the district estimates roughly 30 to 70 out of 800 graduating students are graduating with 21 units of credit. Most students graduate with more – 26 or 27 units of credit, he said.
New courses, requirements
Statewide, the ELA requirement will become Communications, with 3.5 units of ELA and .5 units of communications classes such as speech, debate, forensics, journalism or public speaking required. With the approved recommendation, the Lawence school district will follow suit. Potential classes to fulfill the .5 communications credit also include acting or video production.
The state is requiring students to take .5 unit of financial literacy courses, and the district will add that course for juniors beginning with the Class of 2028. The district will also add 1 required unit of a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Math) elective, as implemented by the state.
For freshmen, the district will add Career and Postsecondary Planning as a .5-credit required course. It will focus on time management, planning, career awareness, digital literacy and more. Students could use AVID in place of Career and Postsecondary Planning, Kelly said.
Additionally, the state and the district will require two “postsecondary assets,” which could be achieved with youth apprenticeships, community service hours, industry-recognized certifications, an ACT composite score of 21 or higher, nine or more college hours, senior projects or exit interviews, and several others.
A new requirement not related to units of credit will be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA); however, students and families will be able to opt out.
Board members generally supported making potential board policy changes given the new graduation requirements, which the district’s policy committee will iron out by the fall. The policy changes could provide flexibility for individual student tracks, possibly allowing students to graduate with 21 units of credit or graduate early if they’ve completed all the state requirements.
To create the approved recommendation, Kelly said administrators collaborated with high school building leadership teams and site councils.
They also took into account feedback from community focus groups about post-graduation success that they hosted in early November. According to a district report from the sessions, participants said communication, self-regulation, perseverance and critical thinking are the top skills students need after graduation. Additionally, they said graduating students should have work experience, civic engagement, mentorship and life skills courses.
View the report from the community focus groups attached to the agenda item on BoardDocs. Monday’s presentation on graduation requirements is also attached to the agenda item.
The board on Monday also approved a new agreement between the district and Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center that will allow students to receive ongoing care, if needed. Read more about that at this link.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
