House Passes HB 5 in a 145 to 2 Vote

You spoke and they listened!

After engaging in nearly 9 hours of debate over 150 pre-filed amendments, the House passed HB 5 yesterday in a 145 to 2 vote.

What this means: If HB 5 becomes law it will significantly change the amount of courses students need to obtain a high school diploma by:

• Replacing the current 3 high school graduation plans with one “Foundation” plan including 5 endorsements (STEM, Business/Industry, Arts/Humanities, Public Service, and Multidisciplinary).
• Reducing the credits required for graduation to 24
• Reducing the current End-of-Course (EOC) tests from 15 to 5
• Replacing the requirement for EOC’s to count as 15% of the student’s final grade with language such as “may adopt a policy” and “to be considered.”

What happens next:

SB 3 and SB 1724 will be considered today, March 27th.

What you can do:

Please continue to make your voices heard by contacting your legislators.

What we support: As a reminder, our core beliefs for any bill addressing graduation plans, testing and accountability:

• Create one graduation plan with endorsements.
• Maintain academic rigor while affording students increased academic choice.
• Decrease the number of EOCs from 15 to no more than 3 (English II Reading & Writing and Algebra I).
• Eliminate the requirement that EOCs count as 15% of the student’s final grade.
• State funding for the PSAT/PLAN and SAT/ACT