Although the pandemic has kept a lot of kids out of school, one Democratic state lawmaker has an idea for when they’re back in class. “We’re just trying to capture the varying interests of our students and what may be available to them in terms of careers and in higher education,” said Rep. G. Andres Romero (D- Albuquerque).

Rep. Romero chairs the Education Committee and he’s also a teacher at Albuquerque Public Schools. He’s proposing a change in graduation requirements, which he says, would broaden the types of classes students could take to meet their core curriculum requirements. “We’re really trying to modernize and update the secondary education requirement for students and make the learning in the classroom more relevant to what they’re going to face in either higher education or the workforce,” said Rep. Romero.

For example, in the required science courses, students could still opt-in for the traditional chemistry and biology classes but they could also take culinary arts, wildlife management, or even botany to meet the required science credit. For the required math classes, computer science could also be taken to complete the math requirement.

For those who might question whether this would lower the bar for students: “These classes are still going to be rigorous and still have standards attached to them to assure students are meeting content standards and they’re also meeting particular skill standards as well within these classes,” said Rep. Romero.

The representative believes giving students a larger variety of classes, that they are passionate about, will benefit them in the long run. “Making it very practical and a place where students want to be in and want to learn and should be learning for their future,” said Rep. Romero.

If passed, the change would start in the 2022-2023 school year for incoming freshmen. Rep. Romero will introduce the legislation during the 60-day session which starts Tuesday.

Read House Bill 83 here: (Includes Video)