Board talks about tightening graduation requirements
The Boulder Valley School District is looking at increasing the rigor of its graduation credit requirements, district leaders said at a school board study session Tuesday.
District leaders plan to create a graduation policy task force this spring to discuss changes. The group is expected to include student and higher education representatives. The task force would be asked to consider increasing the class credit requirement, providing more flexibility on which classes can be used to meet the requirements and aligning requirements to the district’s Grad Plus plan.
The school board would study and vote in the fall on the proposed changes, which would go into effect for freshmen — the graduating class of 2029 — in the fall of 2025.
“We want to encourage our students to explore their talents, their passions, their interests,” Deputy Superintendent Lora de la Cruz said.
Another consideration is aligning graduation requirements with the coursework expected by state colleges, which generally includes four years of English and math, three years of physical sciences and social sciences, one year of a world language and two years of academic electives.
The task force also would be asked to look at the rules for early graduation, which now is allowed midyear of a student’s senior year once all the requirements are met.
The graduation requirements policy was last revised in 2017. The state requires that students show proficiency in English and math to graduate but otherwise allows school districts to set their own graduation requirements. The state does require students to learn about civics and genocide and the Holocaust.
In a comparison with seven neighboring school districts, Boulder Valley and Cherry Creek have the fewest credits required for graduation at 22. Two of the districts require 23 credits, three require 24 and the St. Vrain Valley requires 24.5. One credit is the equivalent of a year-long class.
Among those districts, Boulder Valley also has the lowest math and science requirements at two years for each subject. Boulder Valley, however, is one of only two of those districts with a world language requirement, requiring one year.
To increase flexibility in meeting graduation requirements, Boulder Valley is looking at requiring fewer specific classes and instead allowing students to choose from a variety of classes within a subject area.
Freshmen and sophomores, for example, could be required to take specific English classes, while juniors and seniors could choose from among several English class options that now would only count as elective credit.
School Board President Nicole Rajpal said students “are having to be very creative in getting all these very specific requirements done so they can take the fun stuff.”
Other areas board members want the task force to include is if half a credit for fine arts is enough and if there are too many physical education credits.
Board members noted the district requires a higher number of physical education credits than most. Two physical education credits — including a half a health credit — are required, but students may waive part of that requirement by participating in sports.