Huntington District to Trim Language, Arts Requirement

The school board that governs all high schools in Huntington Beach, Westminster and Fountain Valley has proposed lowering the arts-or-language requirement for graduation.

Huntington Beach Union High School District trustees last week introduced a policy revision that calls for reducing by six months the time a student must take either a foreign language or visual or performing arts in order to graduate. The lowered requirement would be effective for the class graduating in June, 1997.

Current school district policy requires a student to take two years of a foreign language or two years of a visual or performing arts course.

The revised policy would allow a student to graduate with 1 1/2 years of foreign language or visual or performing arts, or a mixture of the two.

The board gave first reading to the policy revision with no debate or discussion. Second reading and adoption of the measure is scheduled at the board’s Sept. 20 meeting.

District Supt. David Hagen said he does not think cutting the arts-or-language requirement is academically harmful.

“What we are doing is giving the students more flexibility,” Hagen said. “The district has very heavy graduation requirements, such as requiring three years of mathematics. This (change) would allow some of our kids to take more classes that they want.”

Many four-year colleges and universities require a high school graduate to have completed at least two years of a foreign language before being considered for admission. Hagen said he believes college-oriented students will continue to complete two years of language. He noted that the classes will still be available.

School board member Dirk Voss, a frequent critic of the district, also said he supports the language-or-arts change, saying many high school students want to take more business and science courses.

Voss said the reduction in the arts-or-language requirement allows students more opportunity to take classes they feel they need.

In addition to reducing the language-or-arts requirement for graduation, the school board’s action also proposes to remove a computer-knowledge provision. Current district policy requires each high school student to “demonstrate competency in computer education” before being able to graduate.

The new change would remove that requirement. Hagen said computers are commonly used both in schools and at homes, so students no longer need to be tested for computer competency. The old requirement was enacted in the early 1980s, when computers where relatively new, Hagen said.