Students voice concerns newly proposed high school diplomas will minimize band classes

As teachers continue to share concerns over the proposed changes to Indiana’s high school diplomas, students and parents have their own worries about what the shift to diplomas focused on work-based learning requirements would mean for their education.

The Indiana Department of Education is considering making drastic changes to the state’s high school diploma requirements and is currently proposing streamlining the state’s current four diploma options down to two, dubbed the Indiana GPS (Graduates Prepared to Succeed) Diploma and the Indiana GPS Diploma Plus.

The new diplomas would be in place for all students starting with the class of 2029 and reflect state leaders' push to emphasize career-centered education and boost the state’s declining college-going rate.But many teachers, students and parents feel that this new emphasis on career-based learning will come at the expense of students who want to head to higher-education institutions. In addition, they fear, the changes will put humanities teachers' jobs at risk.

A group of Hamilton Southeastern High School students came to Wednesday’s State Board of Education meeting to ask that state education leaders consider keeping fine arts courses as part of the diplomas’ foundational skills requirements.

The group of rising seniors, all members of HSE High School’s marching band, shared how meaningful the band experience was for them and asked that marching band, jazz band, symphony, orchestra, drama and choir be considered co-curricular classes rather than extracurricular activities.

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“I can vouch that the skills I learned through playing my instrument every day during marching camp actually gave me more resources and time to grow my abilities compared to my classmates that did not participate in those extra activities,” said Kayla Wease, a 17-year-old senior at HSE High School.

Dylan Balka, another HSE High School senior, asked that the board count band and other band activities as work-based learning experiences under the new diploma requirements for juniors and seniors.

“Without fine arts program I wouldn’t have as strong of a dedication for anything else in my life,” Balka said.

Some parents shared other worries about the new diplomas on Wednesday. Leslie Wells, a parent to two Perry Township students, said she worries that the requirements under the GPS diploma plus are unrealistic for most students.

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“Dual credit AP honors courses require more work inside and outside the classroom,” Wells said. “Adding work-based learning requirements on top of that makes it impossible.”

Advocates for the new diploma system say one advantage is that it will not require students who do not plan on pursuing higher education to take too many high-powered academic courses. A similar dynamic exists when it comes to forcing students interested in seeking admission to college to do career training, Wells said.

“If there's concern about forcing non-college-bound students to take college-ready courses, we should have an equal concern about forcing college-bound students to fulfill these workplace learning requirements,” Wells said.

During last month’s board meeting, the IDOE proposed adding seals to a student's diploma to show that a graduate is ready to enroll in higher education, ready for employment or ready to enlist in the armed services.

Other parents like Keri Miksza asked state leaders on Wednesday to delay the deadline to approve the new diplomas, which by state law must be passed by the end of this year.

Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said after Wednesday's meeting that she expects the board to take a final vote before December on the new diploma rules but that doesn’t mean the work will stop then.

“Once we pass the rule, it's going to take months working with educators working with students, parents and families, stakeholders, business industry, some of who you heard today, to build out that guidance and support that we need,” Jenner said.

Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter (X): @CarolineB_Indy.