The Board of Governors, fearing students may not be prepared for college, wants the Legislature to reconsider.
By ANITA KUMAR
Published September 25, 2003
TALLAHASSEE - State higher education officials said Wednesday the Legislature needs to overhaul a law passed last year that allows high school students to graduate a year early.
The officials, who include university presidents, their bosses on the Board of Governors and state Education Commissioner Jim Horne, said they are concerned Florida high school students will not be prepared for college.
The point of the program was to ease classroom crowding by offering ambitious high-schoolers a way to graduate with fewer credits. But top education officials now fear these students will not be prepared academically or emotionally for college life.
What's more, officials worry that skeptical universities in and out of Florida will not accept an abbreviated high school education as sufficient for admission.
"This is an absolute travesty," said Howard Rock, faculty member on the board. "We are setting kids up to fail. This is a disaster."
The Board of Governors, which oversees 11 public universities, voted unanimously Wednesday to make the change one of its top legislative priorities next year.
"We need to think this through," said John Cavanaugh, president of the University of West Florida in Pensacola. "Speed isn't always a good thing. With all the emphasis on speed, you have to ask at what cost?"
The board's decision came after Rock, a professor at Florida International University in Miami, recommended the group vote not to accept any student who graduates early through the program. He said professors statewide represented by the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates asked him to make the proposal.
But Board of Governors members opposed the outright ban, insisting it went too far and would anger legislators.
"We don't want to get into a debate with the Legislature," board chairwoman Carolyn Roberts said. "We want to be very respectful of their power and respectful to it."
Instead, board members said they want to provide guidance to legislators whom they say did not do enough research before passing the law earlier this year.
"I don't think it's a one-size-fits-all," FIU provost Mark Rosenberg said. "The devil is in the details."
Legislators sought the change as they searched for cheap ways to reduce class sizes in Florida's public schools as part of an amendment to the state Constitution approved by voters in November.
The controversial state law gives high school students the option to graduate in three years with 18 credits instead of the traditional four years with 24 to 29 credits. Only a handful of students are expected to take advantage of the new requirements and graduate early in December. State officials have not estimated how many students may choose to participate.
"It sounds like a social promotion system to me," said David Colburn, provost at the University of Florida.
Supporters wanted the program to be used for mature and academically advanced students but now some worry that it will be used for those who shouldn't leave early. Superintendents around the state have been reporting that most of the students who have expressed interest in the program are struggling academically and are eager to finish high school.
"Some students might think it's great but it's not for them," said Patrick Sullivan, student member of the board and student body president at Florida State University. "There could be a negative effect we don't want."
University administrators say they consider each student for admission individually, including those who finish early. But, they said, they are skeptical many could make it into their institutions without more rigorous classes and emotional maturity.
"We are concerned about their readiness," said John Hitt, president of the University of Central Florida in Orlando. "We will take into consideration the adequate preparation and maturity."
Horne suggested increasing the grade point average of those who complete the program.
"We are working on tightening things up," he said. "It's not a bad idea that a few students skip through but we want to make sure the gate isn't wide open."
But university administrators said that won't solve the problem because they are worried about the classes they will be missing. Under the program students will be able to graduate with no history beyond 8th grade, no math beyond algebra, and only two science classes. Art and physical education would not be required.
"This totally removes physical education, home economics and nutrition," said Castell Bryant, a board member and administrator at Miami-Dade College. "For health reasons, this goes against the new national movement."
Parents must sign off if a student wants to graduate early. And as with the four-year option, students must pass the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and achieve a 2.0 grade point average.
The new law offers two separate tracks to students who want to graduate with 18 credits: one geared toward college-bound students and the other toward those who seek vocational careers.
