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Tennessee State Board of Education Chairman Bob Eby wants the state to reduce its world language requirement for high school students.
Under a new proposal, Tennessee high school students would only be required to have one language credit to graduate instead of the current requirement of two.
Eby’s proposal also includes increasing state elective requirements from three to four credits.
Though Eby will present the proposal to the board on Thursday, it would not be up for a formal debate or vote until at least February.
The board chairman first informally suggested dropping the requirement altogether earlier this year, suggesting stringent language requirements might restrict students interested in alternate electives such as technology or coding courses.
Eby at the time said he didn’t want to remove world language electives from schools altogether, but his comments sparked significant backlash from Tennessee educators and students.
A petition to maintain the two-year language requirement garnered thousands of signatures, and at least one lawmaker weighed in on the benefits of language education.
Some educators also warned eliminating a world language requirement would lead to schools dropping language classes completely, given staffing and hiring constraints.
“The suggestion of removing this requirement could dismantle years of progress and set Tennessee students at a disadvantage to their peers nationwide,” Matthew Harrison, a Spanish teacher in Kingsport, told the board at a July hearing.
Tennessee students are currently required to earn 22 credits to graduate, including the two in world language, one in computer science, and three in electives. Last year, the state board amended the state’s four-credit math requirement, allowing students to complete required classes before the ninth grade as long as they are enrolled in a math class three out of the four years of high school.
Eby said the math credit debate inspired him to reconsider the language requirements and what flexibility might be helpful for students.
“What can we do to provide the students with the greatest opportunity? That includes world language opportunities, but also includes other other opportunities,” Eby said in July. “A lot of people seem to think that I want to yank world languages out of schools. I do not want to do that.”
Reducing the world language graduation requirement could put Tennessee students at odds with some college requirements.
The University of Memphis lists two credits of language as a “minimum” entrance requirement, but the university states it will consider students for admission without it. The University of Tennessee Knoxville encourages two language credits but does not require it.
But Eby noted in his proposal that at least 26 states do not have a formal language requirement, and many of the states that do provide some flexibility.
“This is obviously not impacting those students from entering colleges of their choice,” Eby said.
Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.
