Update / Follow-up on the news
High school students in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District will now have to complete 40 hours of community service to graduate.
Trustees voted 4 to 1 Tuesday night to approve the graduation requirement, which will apply to next year’s freshman class. This year’s freshman class will have to complete 30 hours of community service to fulfill the requirement.
“When a municipality steps in and tells parents how to raise their children, I have a real problem with that,” said Trustee Roseann Thorn, who dissented. “Once volunteer service is mandated, it is now not volunteer.”
But parents voiced their approval. Said Karen Annis, whose son enjoyed the two-year pilot program: “Maybe I’m a dinosaur, but I feel children should start giving back.”
--COMPILED BY KIMBERLY BROWER, BILL BILLITER AND JENNIFER LEUER
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