Students will have more flexibility for CTE, work-based training next school year

This school year is the final one before the state changes high school graduation requirements.

Lawmakers passed House Bill 171 in the 2024 Legislature, which changes high school graduation requirements for ninth grade students entering the 2025-2026 school year.

It includes details on what courses schools must offer, how many units are required for students to take and subjects educators must teach. Graduation requirements will remain at 24 units.

The changes will include more flexibility for career technical education and work-based training to count toward graduation requirements.

"Research shows if a student takes two classes in career technical education, their likelihood to graduate from high school jumps to 95%. As a former statistics teacher, these updates just make sense," said bill sponsor Sen. Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces, when the bill passed the Senate floor during the Legislature.

The legislation also specifies that each school district and charter school must develop a graduate profile specific to the local community and academic requirements. Students also have to create a “next-step plan” with goals for the future, like college or employment.

The state’s Public Education Department has to adopt rules by the end of the year.

The bill nearly passed unanimously through the Legislature earlier this year. Only Rep. Marian Matthews, D-Albuquerque, voted against it.

Legislators previously tried to pass a similar bill updating graduation requirements, but Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham vetoed it in 2023, saying it weakened graduation standards.

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