The class of 2018 will be the first class to graduate high school under a different system. Incoming freshmen will be introduced to House Bill 5, an education plan that will introduce new modifications to graduation requirements. The bill received final approval by the Texas Legislature on Jan. 31.

“House Bill 5 will force our students to look further ahead in their lives besides just what they are doing in high school,” House 200 counselor Donna Brinlee said.

Under House Bill 5, graduation requirements will be changed and replaced by the Foundation High School Program. This program will replace the Minimum, Recommended and Distinguished Achievement graduation plans starting with a 22-credit Foundation plan. Students will be able to complete their Foundation diploma along with endorsements to earn 26 credits.

Students can also follow a Distinguished Level of Achievement graduation plan. In this plan, students complete the Foundation level requirements, as well as take advanced science and math courses. They must also choose at least one endorsement, or career pathway, to follow.

“The question that House Bill 5 will force us to ask students is, ‘After high school and after college, what do you want to be when you grow up,’” Brinlee said.  “The focus is on a specific career path, not just going to college for the sake of going to college.”

House Bill 5 will introduce endorsements, or areas of concentration. Each one focuses on a specific career pathway. Students will get to pick one or more areas of study in which they are interested in and take courses under that area. These endorsements will allow students to get a head start on what they wish to do after high school.

“The positive effect of the bill will be the focus on narrowing career options for students and helping them to think more long-term,” Brinlee said.  “It will also allow schools, like Allen, who already offer a variety of career fields to be able to expand those programs.”

The endorsements choices include: business and industry, arts and humanities, public service, multidisciplinary studies and STEM—which focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“[Endorsements] will encourage students to prepare themselves for their future career and will encourage [them] to be productive,” sophomore Esther Maeng said.

Each endorsement requires students to take certain courses relating to that area of study. For instance, a student interested in becoming a business analyst may follow the business and industry endorsement plan. The student will take classes relating to database management, information technology, accounting, and finance.

“Future students will finally get the opportunity to focus on things they want to focus on,” sophomore Jennifer Ogden said. “This could lead to possibly more interest in school and hopefully better grades.”

The basic 22-credit Foundation plan, which does not include endorsements, requires four English, three math, three science and three social studies courses. Algebra II is no longer a mandatory course under this plan.

“While Algebra II is not a requirement under the House Bill 5 Foundation graduation plan, it will still be required for students with their endorsements,” Brinlee said. “The bill says that students need Algebra I and Geometry and then a higher level math for their endorsement.”

Sophomore Astrid Echegoyen said not making Algebra II mandatory for students following the Foundation plan will have a negative effect.

“I mean, it is knowledge,” Echegoyen said. “You’ve got to learn it. You need it. No amount of knowledge is useless because at one point, you’ll use it.”

This new bill also decreases the required number of end-of-course exams from 15 to five. Students will only be required to take the English I, English II, Algebra I, Biology and U.S. History EOC exams in order to graduate.

“Having 15 EOCs stressed me out and thinking about it every year gave me a headache,” Maeng said. “Now, having just five makes me glad because I don’t have to worry about taking so many.”

Overall, Ogden said the bill will have a positive effect on future graduates.

“I personally feel that [this bill] is a good way to shape education to fit the student, rather than have the student fit to education,” Ogden said.