Alabama lawmakers are sponsoring bipartisan legislation to make it easier for high school students to get a “workforce pathways” diploma.
The diploma is intended for students who intend to go directly into the workforce instead of college, and would lower the number of math and science credits required. It is part of Gov. Kay Ivey’s initiative to improve the state’s low workforce participation rate.
Currently, high school students must earn four math and four science credits. If the new bill passes, some students would only need two credits in math and two in science.
State Superintendent Eric Mackey, speaking during the House Education Policy committee meeting Wednesday, said students already have some flexibility in which courses they can take to meet a math or science credit requirement. Some career tech courses already count as math and science courses, Mackey said. Computer science can count as math or science, he said.
Alabama’s current “4 x 4″ requirement requires a student to earn four credits each in math, science, English language arts and social studies.
The bill would not impact English language arts or social science requirements.
In math, all Alabama students must take Algebra I, II and geometry but that fourth math credit can come from an approved career tech, dual enrollment or advanced coursework.
For science coursework, students must take biology and one of three types of physical science courses but can choose two science credits from among career tech, dual enrollment or advanced courses.
Minority leader Rep. Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, supports the workforce pathway for students who are planning to take jobs where they don’t need to have four years of math and four of science.
“If they’re struggling in high school and middle school,” Daniels said, “all through high school they’re looking for a way to make a decent living.”
“What this legislation that I see does for those young people, is giving them a shot at life and being able to provide for their families early on because they’re not going to a four-year institution,” Daniels said.
House Education Policy committee chair Terri Collins, R-Decatur, postponed the vote on the House version, sponsored by Rep. Kelvin Lawrence, D-Hayneville, until next week, saying she had “about seven things” she needed to work through in HB373 before she is ready for the committee to vote.
Both Senate and House education policy committee members raised questions about what the consequences could be for students who initially don’t plan to go to college but then change their mind and need the additional math and science courses.
Mackey told the House committee that the high school counselor should be able to help a student figure out how to get those courses in before graduation. Further, he said, if a student has graduated but doesn’t have the right kind of credits in math or science, they likely can take a course at a community college.
Senate Education Policy Chair Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, who is sponsoring the Senate version, presented SB253 in his committee Wednesday morning, citing statistics that 45% of Alabama’s high school class of 2021 did not enroll in higher education.
“They’ll be required to take two less math and two less science courses,” Chesteen said. “But in lieu of that, they will enter into a career tech trade that will give them a credential on their diploma that will provide them a pathway to employment after high school.”
The Senate committee adopted an amendment that won’t penalize schools that test students on coursework they haven’t taken.
“In other words,” Chesteen said, “if you’re not required to take an algebra or trig and yet you’re having to be tested on it with the ACAP or ACT, that shouldn’t work against the school grade.”
The Senate version was reported out of committee on a 6-0 vote. The bill now moves to the Senate floor.