School board changes graduation rules

May 09, 2008 10:17 am

— MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The State Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to strengthen requirements for Alabama high school diplomas, but also passed an emergency amendment to potentially allow hundreds of lower-scoring seniors to graduate this year.
The emergency rule amendment covers graduations over the next 35 days and allows students who haven’t passed all five sections of the state’s high school exit exam to graduate if they passed three, including English and math.
But local school systems will have to immediately adopt the changes to make sure those students can walk across the stage.
The board’s votes drew shouts and applause from the audience at a downtown Montgomery meeting where several people spoke in support of the change. Some were parents describing their children’s despair and disappointment after repeatedly failing parts of the test.