BESE resists dual diploma, curricula plan

• By WILL SENTELL
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Dec 3, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Despite legislative pressure, Louisiana’s top school board is preparing to reject calls to create two public high school curricula and two diplomas to trim the 40 percent dropout rate.

The legislative proposal would undercut state and national efforts to improve high school rigor that all students need, according to a resolution that the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is expected to approve Thursday.

However, state educators say they plan to soften their stance slightly by Thursday to make it clear to lawmakers that the issue is far from settled.

Walter Lee of Shreveport, a member of the board, said the panel’s response needs to be tweaked amid threats from key lawmakers that they will step in during the 2009 regular legislative session if the state board fails to act.

“The input we have had to this point is if we don’t make changes the Legislature will,” Lee said.

“This is not what they were asking for,” Lee said of the response to lawmakers. “I think we need to work with them.”

The action is the latest twist in an escalating controversy on whether major changes are needed in classes offered to Louisiana’s 181,000 public high school students.

Earlier this year the Legislature approved a resolution that asked the state board to craft “two separate curricula strands and two related diploma versions” for high school students.

Under the legislative resolution, one set of classes would lead to a diploma for career and technical skills. The other set of courses would offer a diploma for traditional academic classes.

Lawmakers asked the state board for a written report on the issue by Dec. 31.

But educators said in their draft response that, since 2006, the state has developed more rigorous graduation requirements, diploma endorsements and multiple ways for students to earn a standard diploma.

The response says that 48 states offer a single, standard high school diploma.