To graduate high school you need 22 credits and a passing grade in a few required classes, such as swimming. The LPS Board of Education is currently considering changing graduation requirements. Mr. Michael Schrieber has been heavily involved in the process; “I am on a committee of 21 volunteers that represent all of the high schools, departments, and administrations.” He further explains how the committee works. “We have been meeting monthly for over a year collecting data regarding possible changes to graduation requirements, including looking at the graduation requirements of neighboring districts, asking students, parents, and faculty members for their input. We have also talked to local colleges and universities to get their input.”
The committee suggests changes to requirements, and the board will decide whether or not they will be applied. Schreiber Continues by saying, “We will be reviewing all of this information in the upcoming spring semester and then giving our recommendations to Littleton’s Board of Education.” Shrieber explains, “They will make the final determination regarding what changes, if any, are made to graduation requirements.”
Mrs. Cassandra Henderson says, “There have been no official changes yet. I’m on the committee and we are making recommendations to the board. We are considering changing the named courses and how many credits we have and whether we should add, we just have recommendations.”
Henderson explains how the new requirements will be transitioned: “The board will decide for next school year. It will apply to current 8th graders and younger.“ She elaborates, “Anyone currently in high school will have the same requirements. Potentially next year’s freshmen could have slightly different graduation requirements, and then they will grandfather it in.” Henderson talks about current requirements, “The state required that we have our history and civics; we have to have those no matter what. Other classes such as English 9 or 10 are necessary to graduate, same as swimming. US history and gov are required. Others we can change.” Colorado requires some title classes that can not be changed. Miscellaneous classes such as electives can be changed and will be decided whether to keep or changed by the board.
If the changes actually happen, then everything will take effect in 2029. So students in High School as of now won’t have to worry about taking certain classes to graduate.