Some proposed changes could dramatically change both the requirements for your children to graduate from high school, and the time they spend doing it.
Among other things, the State School Superintendent wants to change the length of the standard school day.
He proposes:
Besides extra time in class, the proposal calls for stricter high school graduation requirements, like requiring students to be skilled in two seperate foreign languages. News Specialist Karen Schaler has more.
This is a very agressive proposal that would completely change the way Utah public schools are run. But supporters say this is the best way to keep Utah children ahead of the game and prepare them for the future.
Right now Utah students attending public school are NOT required to take any language courses. Some individual school districts have chosen to require high school students to take a foreign language class. But under the new proposal ALL students would have to study not one but TWO foreign languages in order to graduate.
The classes would start as early as kindergarten. Utah State School Superintendent, Dr. Scott Bean, says, "In order to be productive in the future, they're going to have to be able to know some of those languages!
As a parent of several young children, Paula Choque says she thinks it's a good idea for schools to start teaching more foreign languages to young students. "If they start teaching foreign language in 2nd grade, by the time they're in 6th grade they'll know more than kids in high school now who are just starting," she says.
Another idea under the proposal: Require 7th and 8th graders to pass their grades before going on to high school. The state doesn't require that right now. You can flunk 8th grade and still move on to high school.
Superintendent Bean says it's crucial for Utah children to spend more time in class and learn more skills to be competitive in the future. "It's an educational change we need to make and I hope the Governor and the legislature will agree with that, and provide the resources to do it," he commented.
It would cost an estimated $100-million to impliment this new proposal. Bean is taking it to a legislative group next month.