Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.
Indiana students could have new high school diploma requirements as early as next year after a State Board of Education vote Wednesday.
The state’s new graduation rules offer three pathway seals that students could earn on top of a base diploma. The pathways lead either to enrollment in college, employment, or enlistment in the military. The rules also allow students to complete more work experience or more rigorous academic requirements to earn a second “plus” tier of each seal.
The board’s vote came after months of controversy over the state’s plan to overhaul existing graduation requirements. A first draft of that plan would have required more students to complete work experience in high school as part of the state’s push to bring more career training to grades 10-12.
But in August, the Department of Education scrapped that version of the proposal in favor of the revision featuring the three pathways.
These changes addressed many of the criticisms from parents, educators, and the state’s top colleges and universities that the original plan would have left students unprepared for higher education.
The revamped diploma requirements will go into effect for all Indiana students by 2028-29, but schools could adopt the revised requirements as early as 2025-26.
The final version approved by the board Wednesday cleaved closely to the state’s second draft from August, with minor tweaks to emphasize students’ options for meeting each pathway’s requirements.
By offering more flexibility, education officials hope to encourage more students to develop a post-graduation plan, especially as data indicates a spike in absenteeism in high school, and stagnant college enrollment rates.
“The vast majority of what we hear in focus groups from students is that they don’t see the value,” Jenner said. “So how might we better support them, depending on their unique goals and aspirations, support them into their next step, so that they most certainly see the value?”
No changes were made to the core credits students will be required to earn, despite lingering concerns from educators that foreign language, fine arts, and world history have been de-emphasized compared to the current graduation requirements.
Rather than requiring five credits of directed electives that include fine arts, world language, and career technical education, the new diploma will require students to earn 12 personalized electives, encouraging them to align those courses to their readiness seals.
Education officials have pointed out that Indiana does not currently require world language courses other than for students earning the Academic Honors diploma. Students wishing to earn the new Honors Enrollment seal will still have to complete four world language credits.
For fine arts, Jenner said she would encourage districts to consider creating local graduation pathways that emphasize performing arts. She also said students may use fine arts in the updated requirements to demonstrate communication, work ethic, or other skills.
Some of the other key changes from the August draft include:
- Requiring 75 hours of work experience for students who want to earn the Honors Plus Enrollment seal, rather than 100 hours. This change was made because the state’s CTE requirements are in 75-hour increments.
- No longer requiring college-bound students to pass the exams related to their Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or Cambridge courses.
- Requiring 150 work hours for students who want to earn the Honors Employment seal, rather than 100 hours. (Students wishing to earn the Honors Plus Employment seal still need 650 hours of work experience in an apprenticeship or other opportunity related to their intended career path.)
- Additional ways that students can earn the Honors Employment seal, including through a locally approved graduation pathway, or through a work opportunity paid for through Career Scholarship Accounts.
- Additional ways that students can earn the Honors Plus Enlistment seal, including acceptance to a service academy, or enrolling in collegiate-level ROTC.
The graduation requirements also now specify that students can pivot between enrollment, employment, and enlistment pathways as needed. Students who wish to graduate early must also complete a seal.
The final draft of the plan earned support from a long list of organizations and universities, including the groups representing Indiana teachers, principals, superintendents, and school boards.
“If we … say we’ll just keep doing what we’ve done with the Core 40 and not change anything, then we believe we are missing a golden opportunity for our students,” said Steve Baker, a member of the Indiana Association of School Principals.
In a letter submitted to the Department of Education, the Indiana School Counselor Association, whose members have expressed concern about the increased workload for counselors to manage these new pathways, called the final draft of the diplomas a “positive step forward.”
The organization also called for a statewide system to track students completing diploma requirements and seals.
The new diploma rules now need signatures from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and either Gov. Eric Holcomb or Mike Braun, the governor-elect, once he takes office next month.
By early next year, education officials also have plans to roll out lists of courses, work-based learning opportunities, and credentials that students could use to meet the requirements. Jenner said the department will also seek during the next legislative session to align school funding with the new seals, so that schools will be incentivized to help students earn a seal.
Later in 2025, the department intends to seek proposals to develop a counseling tool to help students choose a pathway and measure their progress through it.
Education officials also said they’ll seek flexibility on who can teach high school and college courses, as well as a new accountability system aligned to the diploma requirements.
Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.
