South Dakota Department of Education staff have been meeting with education stakeholders across the state this spring to gather input on revising state graduation requirements.

South Dakota’s current graduation requirements were adopted in 2009. It’s important that we revisit graduation requirements from time to time, to ensure they are still meeting the needs of our students.

Proposed changes aim to provide flexibility and increase student engagement in meeting academic and career goals.

The addition of three endorsements (Advanced, Advanced Career and Advanced Honors), which students can earn beyond the basic high school graduation requirements, would allow students to more effectively hone in on what they plan to do after high school.

Students would have the choice of earning none, one, two, or all three of these endorsements. An endorsement would allow a student to demonstrate his or her specific preparations for a particular pathway after high school.

Increasing flexibility is intended to help personalize each student’s path to success. For instance, with an Advanced Career endorsement, a student could graduate high school with recognition on his or her transcript not only for traditional academic courses but also for real-world work-based learning experiences and certification.

Rigor remains vitally important. Base graduation requirements in this proposal remove some previous course dictates, but districts retain the right to establish requirements above and beyond the state-mandated minimum. Districts should always counsel each student to pursue challenging coursework in order to achieve his or her highest potential.

At its May 8 meeting in Vermillion, the Board of Education Standards will hold a first reading of these proposed revisions. I encourage you and your staff to take a close look at the proposal, which we have posted, along with several supporting documents, on our website: http://doe.sd.gov/gradrequirements/.

We anticipate that the official public comment period will open sometime in mid-June and run through mid-July. The Board of Education Standards will hold a public hearing on the proposal at its July 16 meeting.

Now more than ever, it is vital that once students graduate high school, they have a clear idea of what their next steps will be. That is the driving force behind this proposal.

Thank you for everything you do for South Dakota students. If you have any questions or concerns, my inbox, phone line and door are open.