Proposed Bill Would Change Graduation Requirements, Focus On Making Students More Career Ready

A proposed bill would change the requirements students need to graduate high school. 

The lawmaker who wrote the bill says it would focus on making kids more career ready and not just college ready. 

Representative Rhonda Baker says she hopes House Bill 3278 will get more students engaged in school.

"Making school, their school experience, seem relevant to what they really enjoy, I think, is a key component, and I think in the past they haven't felt that as much," she said.

Representative Baker says English and History requirements would stay the same, but the main changes would be to math requirements. 

Right now, students must take three years of math, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, or Geometry, and then a third year of their choosing. 

The bill would add another year of math credits, with students still taking Algebra 1, Algebra 2 or Geometry, but then having two additional years of courses they pick geared toward their future, whether it be college or the workforce.

"They will have more of what we are calling pathway units, which are electives that are going to be more geared toward their choices of whatever their career would be," she said.

Representative Baker says school districts have been asking for more flexibility in meeting the needs of their students. 

Bartlesville Schools Superintendent Chuck McCauley says his district has started offering an aviation course as well as a construction class, and students would benefit from the change in graduation requirements.

“We really feel like we do a good job here of preparing our students, that traditional student that plans to go to college but we need to provide more options," he said.

He says 40 percent of students in Bartlesville don't go on to college, so preparing them for the workforce is important. 

“What employers are telling us, is that they need a better workforce, as we bring more jobs to Oklahoma, there are benefits to being here, but we need to do a better job of preparing our workforce," he said.

Representative Baker says this will not change the number of required hours students must have to graduate, it would still be 23 hours.