Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

AUSTIN – Texas high school students are getting a break on course requirements this fall, courtesy of the state's education chief and the Legislature.

State Education Commissioner Robert Scott has decided that all high school students – not just incoming freshmen – will take more electives and fewer required courses under a bill that lawmakers approved in May.

Students will be no longer have to take two semesters of computer technology, a semester of health education and a semester of physical education – though two semesters of PE will still be required.

In the past, students had to take at least three semesters of PE.

In place of those four semesters of course requirements – equal to two credits – students will be able to take more electives for a total of six credits of elective classes.

Students need 26 credits to graduate under the Recommended High School Program – the plan followed by most students.

The standards, announced by Scott in a letter to school superintendents released Monday, would typically take effect with students starting high school in the next academic year.

But Scott decided that the standards apply to all students immediately, unless a district has tougher requirements of its own.

"All students will be able to graduate under the [new] high school graduation requirements beginning in the 2009-10 school year," he wrote.

State lawmakers approved new graduation standards as part of a massive school accountability bill passed during their regular session.

The new graduation requirements were intended to give students more course options in preparing for college or post-secondary training programs.

House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, author of the school accountability measure, said he had no problem with the commissioner expanding the new requirements to all students.

"This will tell us right away how well this [more elective courses] is going to work," said Eissler, who originally wanted to do away with all PE course requirements but later agreed to reduce the number of semesters of PE from three to two.

The lawmaker who has pushed for more PE in public schools as a way to fight rising obesity rates said the change wasn't ideal.

"It's not my preference, but I understand that it could have been worse, considering that the bill as originally filed completely removed the PE and fine arts requirements," Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said through a spokesman.

"Because so many of our students are facing serious health challenges as a result of obesity and inactivity, we need to monitor the effects of this legislation closely to determine its impact on student health."

Eissler emphasized that the state is not telling school districts to do away with computer technology, health and some PE courses, but instead to offer them to students who are interested.

"If a kid chooses a course, he or she is more likely to be interested in it and probably will do better in it," he said. "That was one of the goals of the legislation, to make our course requirements a little more market-friendly for students."

Eissler said he expects to see many students take computer technology and health classes on a voluntary basis. "We just wanted to free up as much time as possible for electives," he said.

Debbie Ratcliffe, a spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency, said the legislation also calls for eliminating another required class, a half semester of speech.

But speech will still have to be taken for the time being because current State Board of Education rules require it.

Other graduation standards are unaffected by the legislation and Scott's decision, including the so-called 4-by-4 core course requirements that call on most students to take four years each of English, math, science and social studies.

Seniors this year are under previous graduation standards that required only three years of math and science – and 24 credits – to receive a diploma.

A credit is equal to one year, or two semesters, of study in a subject.

Students also must take two years – or two credits – in foreign languages, one credit in fine arts, one credit in PE and six credits in electives.

Most high school students follow the "recommended" plan, with some taking the more difficult Distinguished Achievement Program – which includes an extra year of foreign language study.

A "minimum" plan also is available but can only be pursued with the written permission of the student's parents and school counselor.

Under the new law, those students would also have to meet one of these conditions: The student is at least 16 years old, has completed two credits in each of the core areas or failed to be promoted to the 10th grade one or more times.

Ratcliffe said those changes probably will reduce the number of students obtaining a diploma under the minimum graduation plan.

Eventually, high school students will have to get a passing average on 12 end-of-course tests – four each in English, math, science and social studies – to get a diploma.

The end-of-course exams will start with ninth-graders entering high school in the fall of 2011.

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