LOUIVILLE, Ky. (WAVE 3) – Getting a high school diploma in Kentucky could soon become a little harder.
The Kentucky Board of Education is scheduled to vote Wednesday on new minimum high school graduation requirements.
The proposed requirements would be a demonstration of college or career readiness, for high school freshmen starting in fall of 2019, and passing new math and reading exams, which would become a requirement for students entering ninth grade in 2020.
Kentucky Interim Commissioner of Education Wayne Lewis says the change is needed to improve student performance across the state.
“This is a tough conversation. This is a really big shift that we’re talking about making with high school graduation, but we simply cannot continue to hand kids high school diplomas that are no more than certificates of attendance,” said Lewis.
The Kentucky Local Superintendents Advisory Council stated in a letter to the department of education that it did not support for the graduation requirement proposal.
