High School Tech Apps in Texas - No longer required
Well, if you still weren’t sure that Technology Applications Graduation requirement had been put aside for high school students, this June 25th letter from TEA (which arrived in my email inbox on June 26, 2009) should set you straight; a short excerpt:
With the passage of House Bill (HB) 3, new graduation requirements will take effect on September 1, 2009. These new requirements supersede the graduation requirements in 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 74…Typically, new graduation requirements take effect with the incoming freshman class. However, the flexibility in the new HB 3 graduation requirements impacts all high school students beginning with the 2009-2010 school year. All students are able to graduate under the HB 3 high school graduation requirements beginning in the 2009-10 school year, unless the district has adopted additional local requirements.
Attached is a side-by-side comparison of the current RHSP and the newly required HB 3 graduation plan. The State Board of Education will address changes to graduation requirements in 19 TAC Chapter 74 in the upcoming months.
Here’s the relevant side by side comparison:
Graduation Requirements Current – 26 credits
Graduation Requirements
HB 3 - 26 credits
Enrichment / Electives
( 6 ½ required + 3 ½ open)
(4 required + 6 open)
LOTE – 2 required in same language
LOTE – 2 required in same language
Fine Arts – 1 required
Fine Arts – 1 required
PE - 1½ required
PE – 1 required
Technology Applications – 1 required
Technology Applications
Health - ½ required
Health
Speech – ½ required
Speech
Career and Technical Education
Career and Technical Education
ELA, Math, Science, or Social Studies electives
ELA, Math, Science, or Social Studies electives