2009 House Bill 4410 (Remove Algebra II from high school graduation requirements )

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Introduced by Rep. Joel Sheltrown (D) on February 24, 2009, to authorize an alternative public high school “general diploma” with reduced curriculum requirements from those required under a 2006 law establishing minimum statewide standards, and authorize up to 15 high school “specialty schools” with even lower requirements, subject to certain additional performance standards.
- Referred to the House Education Committee on February 24, 2009.
  - Reported in the House on August 19, 2009, with the recommendation that the substitute (H-3) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
- Substitute offered in the House on September 2, 2009, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that does not create alternative public high school “general diploma,” but does eliminate the Algebra II requirement in the high school graduation standards high school graduation standards adopted in 2006. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on September 2, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Joel Sheltrown (D) on September 2, 2009, to remove the determination of whether a proposed "career and technical education" course proposed as an alternative to Algebra II and Geometry requirements from the state Board of Education, and give it to the local school district. The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on September 2, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Tim Melton (D) on September 2, 2009, to clarify a provision that allows a "financial literacy" course as an alternative to Algebra II. The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on September 2, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Joel Sheltrown (D) on September 2, 2009, to add to this bill the section of the law containing the rest of the high school graduation standards, which is a technical procedure that facilitates expanding the scope of proposed changes in negotiations with the Senate. The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on September 2, 2009.
Passed in the House (97 to 10) on September 2, 2009, to eliminate the Algebra II requirement in the high school graduation standards adopted in 2006. The bill would allow students to instead take various alternative courses including "applied math," accounting, business math, "financial literacy," a "career and technical education" course approved by the school district, and more. [Vote Details and Comments]
Received in the Senate on September 9, 2009.
- Referred to the Senate Education Committee on September 9, 2009.

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1) Re: 2009 House Bill 4410 (Authorize reduced high school graduation requirements ) [by BlueWaterTeacher on October 20, 2009]

Algebra ll is not meaningful to every student. In fact, studies show that only 15% of Algebra ll course content is ever used by even the most technical professions. Further, if we aren't going to require every student to pass advanced Shakespeare, these math requirements are fundamentally discriminatory. Every student needs to be challenged, yes, but Algebra ll is not even useful for the vast majority of professions, therefore it should be eliminated as a required course.

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2) Re: 2009 House Bill 4410 (Authorize reduced high school graduation requirements ) [by FreeSpeaker on July 13, 2009]

[quote user="doctortom"]

...

Many of our students continue on to more advanced trade schools, community colleges or other post-secondary venues. ... [/quote]

And the problem is, they populated the remedial classes in core academic disciplines -- language arts, math, civics -- required to earn an Associate's degree, etc. The new high school graduation and curriculum requirements are designed to minimize or put an end to that kind of waste in post-secondary education time and resources.

[quote]The option for this type of training has to be an available part of Michigan's Curriculum or many talanted young people will be lost on the way to College. I was one of them 40 years ago.[/quote]

The new high school graduation requirements do not / will not put an end to the vocational education opportunity, as this comment suggests. They will strengthen it.

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3) Re: 2009 House Bill 4410 (Authorize reduced high school graduation requirements ) [by catherinea on July 13, 2009]

[quote user="doctortom"]

Many of our students continue on to more advanced trade schools, community colleges or other post-secondary venues. Some will always be technicians, some may become parts specialists, and some may end up owning the business. The next time you pay $75 to $100 dollars an hour to repair your car, snowmobile, or motorcycle, thank a Career Tech center or other trade school.

The option for this type of training has to be an available part of Michigan's Curriculum or many talanted young people will be lost on the way to College. I was one of them 40 years ago.[/quote]

This is absolutely true. I think that the bill is really useful in motivating people that don't have certain abilities to pursue further education. Saying that the bill is "dumbing down" requirements is stupid and absolutely counterproductive. Trade schools are absolutely necessary and many of the students there have very good and profitable jobs later on.

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