File photoMississippi's Board of Education has proposed new high school graduation options that, if approved, would allow students to add academic and career endorsements to traditional high school diplomas. The options would take effect for the graduating class of 2022 if approved. Graduates of Meridian High's Class of 2017 are shown in this photo from May.

Mississippi high school students beginning as freshmen one year from now may find themselves with three new diploma options — and local school district officials say the options may prompt students, and families, to focus and plan high-school coursework more vigorously.

The state’s board of education has proposed new high school graduation options that, if approved, would allow students to add academic and career endorsements to traditional high school diplomas. The options would take effect for students entering high school in the 2018-2019 school year, or the graduating class of 2022.

The options will not yet be in place for the students entering high school this fall — something that school district officials emphasize to families thinking about the potential changes. But the period of public feedback for the plan is in motion right now, and that period will last through the end of August.

Information, comments

People seeking more information can go to https://tinyurl.com/yay7skxt. They can also call the department with questions at 601-359-3513.

People may submit written comments to Dr. Jo Ann Malone, Office of Accreditation, 359 N. West Street, Post Office Box 771, Jackson, MS 39205-0771. They may also submit comments in writing by e-mail (accreditation@mdek12.org) or by fax at 601-359-1979.

All comments must be received in the Office of Accreditation no later than 5:00 p.m. on August 31, 2017. APA Comments will be presented to the board on September 14, 2017.

“I think it would help students organize and plan for the future,” said Cheryl Thomas, curriculum director for grades five through 12, and professional development director for kindergarten through grade 12, in the Lauderdale County School District.

The state board’s proposal creates pathways for three new diploma “endorsements.” They include a career and technical endorsement, an academic endorsement and a “distinguished academic endorsement.” Each one of the endorsements would enable students to receive acknowledgment for additional career or academic work in their diplomas. Students are not limited to one endorsement.

“The goal is — with career, academic, and distinguished — to challenge students above and beyond the basic 24 (required credit hours) in order to prepare them for whatever their aspirations are,” said John Taylor, assistant superintendent of instructional support for the Meridian Public School District.

As described in a report on the Mississippi Department of Education’s website, students under the proposed plan could “take additional CTE (Career and Technical Education) coursework to meet the requirements for the CTE endorsement or advanced, college-preparation coursework to earn an academic or distinguished academic endorsement.”

The report says CTE and academic endorsements will require students to earn 26 Carnegie units, or credit hours, and a distinguished academic endorsement would require 28 credit hours. A traditional diploma would demand 24 credit hours under the state board’s new guidelines.

“I think it’s going to change a mindset,” Thomas said, noting that students and families will be encouraged more intensely to plan for the future. She suggested that early planning, even before high school, would be more important if the new diploma options become available.

“We’ve got to be communicating in middle school … and getting parents involved in those decisions,” Thomas added.

Meridian Public School District Superintendent Amy Carter noted that students already have the opportunity to earn credits through Career and Technical Education, along with dual enrollment and Advanced Placement courses. It’s a point that officials in other area districts make, as well. But the new diploma endorsements, Carter said, may nudge students a step further by allowing them to focus their course selections more strategically.

“As we look at this opportunity for students, they’ll be able to focus and concentrate in a particular area,” Carter said.

Lundy Brantley, the new superintendent for Neshoba County School District, suggested that a key task for school districts may be to organize offerings they already provide.

“It will take a lot of work to organize what we have here,” he said.

Brantley said, too, that smaller districts may encounter challenges in finding teachers with the credentials they need to teach dual enrollment and other advanced classes — classes necessary for an academic endorsement. He said Neshoba County School District, with an enrollment of about 3,300, is “fortunate and blessed to have teachers” with the necessary credentials.

Taylor, with the Meridian Public School District, said the new options could help to shape some of the courses the district offers — in an affirmative way.

“We’re excited about giving teachers different opportunities as well as the students,” he said.

Brantley did express reservations about language, in the state board’s proposal, that could eliminate students’ eligibility for early release if they do not meet “College or Career Readiness Benchmarks that allow students to attend postsecondary without remediation or demonstrate work ready requirements.”

Curtailing early release, Brantley said, could make it necessary for districts to add more classes.

“That’s something that needs to be thought through a little more,” he said.

The Mississippi state Board of Education is proposing other changes, as well. Its proposal includes an “alternate diploma … designed for the approximately 1 percent of students who have met the criteria on their IEP (Individualized Education Plan) for having a Significant Cognitive Disability,” according to the Mississippi Department of Education’s report. This diploma, according to the report, “is not equivalent to the traditional high school diploma and is not recognized by post-secondary entities that require a high school diploma.”

The state Legislature eliminated the Mississippi Occupational Diploma, designed for students with disabilities, earlier this year. The elimination takes effect for freshmen who are entering high school in the 2017-18 school year, according to the Mississippi Department of Education.