Indiana's New High School Diploma Requirements: A Redesign for the Future
Indiana is overhauling its high school diploma requirements, marking a significant shift in how students prepare for life after graduation. These changes, approved by the State Board of Education, aim to provide a more flexible, personalized, and relevant learning experience. The goal is to equip students with the skills and experiences necessary for success in college, careers, or military service.
The Need for Change
The impetus for these changes stems from several key challenges facing Indiana's education system. Fewer Indiana students are enrolling in higher education, and many graduates lack the skills needed for rewarding careers or military service. Chronic absenteeism is also a growing concern. The existing high school diploma structure, largely unchanged since the late 1980s, no longer adequately addresses these challenges. Stakeholders across Indiana have expressed that a redesigned high school experience could better connect students to their future aspirations. The reality is, the structure of the American high school experience has not changed for most students in over one-hundred years. In Indiana, our current high school diploma has not been significantly updated since the late 1980s. While some aspects of the current high school experience work, many others are long outdated.
Three Pathways to Success: Seals for Enrollment, Employment, and Enlistment
The new graduation rules offer three pathway seals that students can 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. It’s similar to the current Core 40 diploma but allows for more flexibility. Students can earn one or more "readiness seals" in two tiers that align with their interests. Students can earn an Honors Seal or an Honors Plus Seal in the Enrollment, Employment, and Enlistment & Service categories.
Enrollment Pathway: This pathway is designed for students planning to attend college. Students wishing to earn the new Honors Enrollment seal will still have to complete four world language credits. No longer requiring college-bound students to pass the exams related to their Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or Cambridge courses.
Employment Pathway: This pathway focuses on preparing students for direct entry into the workforce. Students who want to jump right into a career after graduation can earn the "employment" seal. 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.
Read also: Indiana Diploma Requirements
Enlistment Pathway: This pathway is tailored for students interested in joining the military. These students can either complete a year of JROTC in high school or an introduction to public service course. Additional ways that students can earn the Honors Plus Enlistment seal, including acceptance to a service academy, or enrolling in collegiate-level ROTC. The honors enlistment seal plus would result in a student enrolling in college ROTC.
Key Features of the New Diploma Requirements
The new diploma requirements include several key features designed to enhance student preparedness and engagement:
- Flexibility and Personalization: The new diploma offers students a more flexible and personalized learning experience, with an emphasis on real-world skills and opportunities. Students can pivot between enrollment, employment, and enlistment pathways as needed.
- Work-Based Learning: The changes to the diploma are geared toward work-based learning and preparing students for after-high school plans. 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.
- Emphasis on Post-Graduation Plans: 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.
- Personalized Electives: 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.
Specific Changes from Previous Proposals
The final version of the new diploma requirements incorporates feedback from educators, parents, and universities. Some of the 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.
- 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.
Concerns and Considerations
Despite the widespread support for the new diploma requirements, some concerns remain:
- De-emphasis of Certain Subjects: Some educators are concerned that foreign language, fine arts, and world history have been de-emphasized compared to the current graduation requirements.
- Increased Workload for Counselors: The Indiana School Counselor Association has expressed concern about the increased workload for counselors to manage these new pathways. The organization also called for a statewide system to track students completing diploma requirements and seals.
Implementation and Future Steps
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 plan will now go to Indiana’s Attorney General who will have 45 calendar days to sign it. The Diploma Rule will then go to the Governor's desk for his signature. 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.
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Support and Optimism
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. Many state universities and education associations have shared their support on the changes. And some say Wednesday’s decision is more than just about a diploma.
Read also: Comprehensive Ranking: Indiana Colleges
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