YUKON — A former classroom teacher in Yukon Public Schools, Republican state Rep. Rhonda Baker received a daunting task two years ago — leading a rewrite of Oklahoma’s high school graduation standards, which figures to be one of the state’s most impactful pieces of education legislation in a generation.

Baker and other education leaders in the Legislature pulled together a group of education stakeholders from across Oklahoma — superintendents of school districts large and small, site principals, state business leaders and representatives from the state’s higher education system, among others — to determine ways the bill could address the ever-evolving landscape of workforce and academic needs.

The end result was House Bill 3278, which is nearing the legislative finish line.

Approved by a 12-0 vote in the Senate Education Committee on April 9, the bill is ready to be heard by the full Senate, after which it could soon head to Gov. Kevin Stitt’s desk for his signature. The bill has its detractors — supporters of fine arts and world language classes among them — but it’s received minimal legislative opposition so far.

Baker, the House Common Education Committee chair, won’t run for reelection this year, so this would seem to be her legislative opus.

“I don’t think people always understand what it takes to put together legislation of this magnitude,” Baker told The Oklahoman. “It kind of started out from a constituent standpoint. Then we started meeting with principals and superintendents. The chambers (of commerce) started getting involved in this space because they’ve got the whole workforce development piece. Then higher ed.

“Here has been the problem for me. Up here, when I got here, everything was so siloed in education. This was your area, and no one talked to other areas. It was like a turf battle. This is the first time we’ve all come together and we’ve recognized we really have an issue that all of us collectively can work on. That’s what’s happened. There was lots of trying to figure out how we can make this work.”

Baker said the concept behind the bill is to better prepare Oklahoma students for whatever post-secondary path they choose, be it college, CareerTech, the military or simply entering the workforce. Baker and Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond — the bill’s primary Senate sponsor and the chair of that chamber’s Education Committee — wanted to give local school boards more control of what might be considered as a credit toward graduation and provide parents and students more flexibility in preparing for future careers.

‘Every kid has a different story,’ — multiple pathways to graduation

Current Oklahoma graduation standards are focused on preparing children for college, but if a student has other plans, it’s not uncommon for that student to tune out of required classes, Baker said. She thinks the system outlined in the bill will address that issue and others.

“Every kid has a different story,” Baker said. “That’s the beauty of what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to make it to where we are helping them with their story. We’re trying to make it more relevant to them. The relevance is key because they do have their own story.”

But in trying to create that flexibility and address concerns from both higher education and state business officials concerning students’ math preparation under the current system — while not at the same time increasing the number of credits required for graduation — something had to give.

Present graduation requirements dictate students must earn three math credits — a half-credit can be earned each semester of high school — along with a fine arts credit and a computer education or world language credit for graduation. Four language arts credits and three credits each of science and social studies also are required, plus electives, for a total of 23 necessary credits.

The new system still would require 23 overall credits but would increase the math requirement to four credits. Baker said that’s something about which those in higher education and the business community felt strongly, so students wouldn’t potentially have a year of high school with no math instruction before entering college or the workforce. If the bill passes, local school boards could determine what might count as a math class — such as a welding course or a robotics class, since those courses require significant amounts of math — if those courses are approved to qualify as such a credit by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

The new system would also add six “pathway” credits that could be determined by local school boards, again with the approval of the state Education Department. The idea is for those pathway credits to align with each student’s Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP) — which is developed while a student is in junior high and provides indicators about the student’s potential academic strengths and interests.

Those credits may include, but are not limited to, subjects including world or non-English language, computer technology, Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC), internship or apprenticeship programs, career and technology education courses, concurrently enrolled courses, advanced placement courses, International Baccalaureate courses approved for college admission requirements, music, art, drama, speech, dance or media arts, along with other approved courses.

Concern from supporters of fine arts, world language classes

Proponents of fine arts classes — such as band, choir and drama — fear removing the current requirement that every student take at least one of those classes will cause enrollment in those classes to plummet. The same goes for those connected with world language classes. Both groups have tried to marshal their supporters to speak to lawmakers about their concerns.

“Research has shown that students who take the minimum two years of a language outperform those students who never take a second language on both the ACT and SAT tests,” said Dena Dawson, the advocacy chair for the Oklahomans for World Language Teachers Association, who once worked at the state Education Department.

“The cognitive benefits of a second language can improve overall academic performance and college outcomes due to stronger literacy skills in English and the target languages, as well as problem-solving abilities that support math and science, and overall expanded cognitive abilities.”

Katie Robertson, the executive director of the Oklahoma Music Educators Association, said in a letter to supporters the high school graduation requirement is the only arts requirement for students in Oklahoma.

““We have legislation stating, ‘Students, therefore, shall study social studies, literature, languages, the arts, health, mathematics, and science’ but there is no enforcement to make sure this happens” for students in prekindergarten through eighth grades, Robertson said. “The high school requirement is the only actual requirement keeping many arts programs alive.”

Baker and Pugh understand the concerns.

“It’s hard to include everything that people see value in, so we really have to pick and choose sometimes,” Baker said, adding that district superintendents told her that courses popular with school communities, such as marching band, should be able to count on support from local school boards.

Pugh said he grew up in a home in which French was spoken, so he has a special appreciation for learning different languages.

“I don’t want to hurt the arts,” Pugh said. “I don’t want to hurt the languages. Certainly, if kids are passionate about those issues, I think that they’ll be drawn to those courses and take them as electives, or be required to take them for whatever they’re going to do when they graduate from high school. So if you’re listening … that’s certainly not the intent (to hurt any subject area).”

Dawson said she is grateful Pugh and Baker listened to those concerns, but still believes it’s not wise to no longer require world languages or fine arts for graduation.

“It seems like we have become so entangled with, ‘How much money will you make?’ that we forget about the element of education that gives a student a choice of what to do with his or her life and what makes them feel worthy, what makes them excited, what gives them that purpose and value to themselves,” Dawson said.

Excitement about potential for change

But others in education are excited about the potential for change. A leader from the state’s second-largest school district expressed optimism about the proposed new graduation requirements, which would take effect for students entering eighth grade in the 2025-26 school year.

“If you think about having (not) had addressed graduation requirements (since) almost the dawn of this century, that tells you that it was time to take a look at it,” said Jason Brown, the deputy superintendent for Oklahoma City Public Schools. “It is not a watering down at all. … It takes a couple of things into consideration that we feel like will be beneficial to preparing all students in the state of Oklahoma for college and career readiness.”

CareerTech Director Brent Haken, whose organization is gearing up to expand opportunities for what he believes will be a large influx of students preparing for potential trade jobs, also is a fan of the bill.

“More people consider career readiness a top priority in education,” Haken said. “I think it’s important Oklahoma’s graduation requirements reflect this undeniable need for more skilled workers and more career training opportunities. As the educational landscape continues to evolve, we need to enhance graduation requirements by prioritizing career training alongside academic achievement.”

The State Chamber has lobbied for the bill’s passage as well. Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Chad Warmington said, “It gives everybody an opportunity to get on a career pathway that’s going to put them in a job that’s going to change their family tree potentially. That’s what our workforce system should be all about.”

The bill passed 11-0 in the House Common Education Committee and 95-2 on the House floor, receiving bipartisan support, as it did in the Senate committee. Since its passage in Pugh’s Senate committee, two other senators have signed on as co-sponsors — Sen. Ally Seifried, R-Claremore, and Sen. Kristen Thompson, R-Edmond. Eight other House members are co-sponsors, including Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore.

Pugh said it “will be interesting to see how high schools approach this” but believes once they understand what’s in the bill, “if they have the opportunity, schools will fully embrace this.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma high school graduation requirements soon could change