Ban Art Class From Being A Required Credit To Graduate High School

 

This bill aims to prohibit schools from mandating an art credit for high school graduation. The goal is to prevent

students from being compelled to enroll in a class that could potentially lower their GPA based on the subjective

standards for art established by the teacher. Additional electives can be offered up to substitute the amount of credits

the student would’ve got for that art class.

 

To ensure no one fails to graduate or has to attend credit recovery and risk not graduating on time due to not meeting

the subjective standards set by art teachers. Forcing students to enroll in art can dampen one's enthusiasm for learning

and hinder academic motivation. Art class isn’t the only class that fosters creativity and critical thinking skills in

students. Fewer than half of Minnesota middle and high schools offered all of the required arts classes. This is due to

the fact they often focus on core subjects like Math or Science, this makes art programs underfunded. Students can

petition to replace art with additional electives, for example an intro to business or another language. That way they

can still graduate with the required number of credits.

 

Art class: Band, choir, orchestra, HS theatre, HS visual arts, and design.

High school credit: a unit of measurement for academic achievement, earned by successfully completing a specific course.

Counts toward graduation requirements.

Credit recovery: educational strategy to earn academic credit for a course previously failed or uncompleted.

 

This bill is a simple high school credit standard so it requires no cuts of funding. Art classes will still be an option

to take for students who choose to take the class.

 

Schools will first be given a public warning if they are not in compliance. If issue is not fixed, the school will be

put on probation status(formal acknowledgment). If the issue is still continuing, schools may withdraw accreditation or

may withhold federal funds.

 

The effective date of this bill is the start of the new school year in 2026.