The Highline School District took another step on Jan. 10 towards requiring a third year of high-school math for graduation.
Board members accepted the first reading of the requirement change. They will vote on it at a later meeting.
The freshman class of September 2007 would be the first students affected. They are scheduled to graduate in 2011.
To make way for the additional year of math, the electives requirement will be reduced.
Assistant Superintendent Carla Jackson said 40 math classes a year would be added throughout the district to meet the requirement.
The district would hire more math teachers, but would need fewer teachers for elective classes, Jackson added.
Administrators are still working out the new requirement details, according to Jackson.
District officials say colleges want three or four years of high-school math for admission.
Superintendent John Welch also informed board members that he will make a decision by 4:45 a.m. on mornings with inclement weather about school closures. The notice will be posted on the district's web site at www.hsd401.org and announced to the news media by 5 a.m.
Welch noted he is "not comfortable" with an earlier deadline because weather conditions change.
In other business, board members approved a waiver for 20 faculty members who are teaching courses for which they are not certified.
Board member Susan Goding complained that 60 percent of the waivers are for special education.
Noting that only 17 percent of Highline special education students graduate, Goding suggested the students might be mainstreamed in regular classes.
"There has to be another answer," she declared.
Goding decided to seek election to the board partly over frustration over the district's handling of her son, who was assigned to special education classes.
Board members decided to schedule a later work-study session to discuss special education.
The board will also hold a work-study session on Jan. 24 to discuss conversion to a year-round school calendar. The session will be held following the regular 6 p.m. board meeting at Madrona Elementary, 20301 32nd Ave. S. in SeaTac.
