This article was originally published in Indiana Capital Chronicle.
As state education officials pump the brakes on a plan to overhaul Indiana’s high school diplomas, concerns from Hoosier teachers, students and families are mounting over the proposed graduation requirements.
With the deadline fast approaching for the State Board of Education (SBOE) to finalize the changes, state leaders are asking for more statewide feedback — including what’s expected to be a lengthy public forum scheduled for next week.
Although the original plan was for the state board to vote on the new diplomas in September, Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said at a board meeting last week that — in response to feedback received already — the process is slowing down, at least somewhat.
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Jenner said the board will hear a revised draft proposal at the August meeting, followed by a second round of feedback, including a public hearing, before the board releases a final proposal.
Under a law passed by Indiana legislators in 2023, the state must adopt new diploma requirements by December.
Schools could choose to opt in and start offering the new diplomas as early as the 2025-26 academic year. The new diplomas will take effect for all Hoosier students beginning with the Class of 2029, who are entering eighth grade this fall.
Paramount to the new plan, according to state officials, is maximized “flexibility” for students to personalize learning pathways and experiences, including with college courses taken while still in high school, as well as the ability to count internships, apprenticeships, military experience and other work-based learning toward their graduation requirements.
While the plan answers repeated calls for the state’s curriculum to better prepare students for post-high school employment and boost the state’s declining college-going rate, the draft plan has garnered increasing criticism for its exclusion of certain course requirements, like those in history, foreign language and fine arts.
Some educators are also worried about plans to eliminate the current Academic Honors diploma, linked to college-going.
What’s proposed, so far?
Currently, Hoosier students can work toward one of numerous diploma designations, including the general, Core 40, academic honors, or technical honors options. Some schools additionally offer the International Baccalaureate diploma, which is dependent on successful completion of specific assessments and examinations during grades 11 and 12.
State education officials conceded that the existing diploma system is outdated and confusing for both parents and students. Jenner previously said it especially lacks options for students to get hands-on training or earn high-value credentials, given the various course requirements. The move now, however, is to be less “course-obsessed.”
As laid out in the proposal, Indiana’s future diplomas would include the “Indiana GPS Diploma” — a more flexible, personalized version of the current Core 40 diploma — and the “Indiana GPS Diploma Plus.”
Three transcript seals added to their diplomas would allow students to show they’re ready for enrollment, employment or enlistment.
Ron Sandlin, the state education department’s senior director of school performance and transformation, said the proposed seals would focus on readiness — but not eligibility. Each seal track would have required courses, and students could earn multiple seals and apply seals to both diploma types.
Students, parents, teachers push back
But students and parents expressed worries about the model during last week’s SBOE meeting, which lasted more than four hours.
That included a trio of Hamilton Southeastern High School students who pleaded for state education leaders to keep fine arts courses as part of the diplomas’ foundational skills requirements.
All rising seniors and members of the high school’s marching band, each highlighted the benefits of music education and asked that marching band, jazz band, symphony, orchestra, drama and choir be considered co-curricular classes — which could count towards foundational graduation requirements — rather than extracurricular activities.
“I can vouch that the skills I learned through playing my instrument every day during marching camp actually gave me more resources and time to grow my abilities compared to my classmates that did not participate in those extra activities,” said Kayla Wease, a 17-year-old senior at Hamilton Southeastern.
Dylan Balka, another of the students, further asked the board to count band activities as work-based learning experiences under the new diploma requirements for juniors and seniors.
“Without the fine arts program,” he said, “I wouldn’t have as strong of a dedication for anything else in my life.”
Separately ,numerous foreign language teachers have spoken against the lack of credits awarded to students who take foreign language courses under the new proposal. Many colleges require foreign language credits or entry.
And parents like Leslie Wells, whose two children attend Perry Township schools, said they’re concerned that requirements under the “GPS Diploma Plus” won’t be attainable for many students.
“Dual credit AP honors courses require more work inside and outside the classroom,” Wells said at last week’s SBOE meeting. “Adding work-based learning requirements on top of that makes it impossible. … If there’s concern about forcing non-college-bound students to take college-ready courses, we should have an equal concern about forcing college-bound students to fulfill these workplace learning requirements.”
Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-Lafayette, additionally called for board members to create diplomas that prepare non-college-bound students, but still offer an equivalent to the current academic honors diploma for those who want to pursue higher education.
Doing so, she said, ensures those students are “competitive applicants for university admissions and prospective scholarships.”
“Our state desperately needs well-rounded, comprehensive diplomas that encourage our youth to be critical thinkers. Students who want to work after graduation must be introduced to skilled trade apprenticeships and employment opportunities. However, we must continue to foster excitement about the arts,” Klinker, a former teacher, said in a statement.
“I fear our smaller, public high schools will be forced to cut some arts and humanities classes. They are severely underfunded, and if these classes are not required, they are on the cutting block,” she continued. “Let’s give our Hoosier youth the best chance in life by inspiring them to be professionally ambitious and passionately creative.”
How Hoosiers can weigh in
Hoosiers are invited to offer a first round of online feedback through July 30. So far, the state has received more than 6,300 digital feedback submissions.
An in-person public hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. the same day in Conference Rooms Four and Five of the Indiana Government Center South in Indianapolis.
SBOE officials emphasized earlier this month that all comments given online will be reviewed and weighed equally as those provided in-person.
Rep. Sue Errington, D-Muncie, has additionally scheduled a town hall meeting for Friday to discuss the restructuring of Indiana’s high school diploma system.
The meeting, open to the public, will run from 6 to 8 p.m. at Kennedy Library, located at 1700 W. McGalliard Road in Muncie.
In a news release, Errington said the proposed plan “would completely erase” the state’s existing diplomas and reduce requirements for multiple subjects — “entirely restructuring high school education as we know it.”
She cautioned that there is no academic honors diploma under the plan and said neither of the proposed diplomas’ baseline requirements meet admissions requirements for Ball State University — located in her district — or other in-state universities.
“I have received an outpouring of concern from House District 34 parents and educators about the proposed diploma redesign,” Errington said in a statement. “I hope to see you at a public listening session so you can get your questions answered and share your thoughts on the proposal with stakeholders.”
Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn, D-Fishers, is also holding two public listening sessions for district constituents to learn about and discuss the proposal. One focused on Carmel Clay Schools and Washington Township Schools took place Monday evening, and another — from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on July 29, in the Hamilton East Public Library in Fishers — will center around the Hamilton Southeastern School Corporation.
“I have received an outpouring of concern from House District 32 parents and educators about the proposed diploma redesign,” Garcia Wilburn said in a news release. “People move to House District 32 for our great public schools that set students up for success in life, success in higher education and success in their careers. The focus of this plan on career training at the expense of rigorous academic coursework is threatening to derail our district public high schools’ track record of success.”
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