College educators, students want IDOE to add arts requirements to new high school diploma proposal

Educators say Indiana’s second draft of new high school diploma requirements is better than the first, but some people are still concerned about the lack of fine arts requirements in the new proposal.

The Indiana Department of Education debuted the first draft of new requirements in March. That draft included the GPS and GPS Plus diplomas, which many parents, educators and students said were not rigorous enough and would not prepare students for their paths after graduation.

IDOE made significant changes in the second draft, which more closely resembles the current Core 40. The current proposal received praise from many educators who said they are happy IDOE listened to their concerns.

However, some say the new proposal still needs to undergo a few more changes.

Several students, teachers and university professors spoke in favor of including arts requirements in the final draft at the Indiana State Board of Education meeting this week.

Butler University Assistant Professor of Music Education Brian Weidner said while the new draft is rigorous and flexible, it should also explicitly include arts education.

“As Indiana society, industries and businesses become increasingly international, it is critical that Indiana students have rich and varied explorations of living cultures through music, theater, art, dance and language studies,” he said.

He added that many arts promote skills like communication, collaboration and leadership — skills the Indiana Department of Education wants to promote in the new diploma.

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Abby Means, coordinator of the music education program at Indiana State University, spoke on behalf of her students. One of them says schools won’t prioritize arts if they’re not required.

“The smaller school districts will not be able to support paying a teacher that only has a couple of students a day,” she read from a prepared statement. “Therefore, some students are not going to even be offered a fine arts class in high school.”

The Indiana State Teachers Association says it supports the new draft but will continue working with IDOE to create a final version.

There will be one more public comment period on the new proposal before the final draft is approved by the Indiana State Board of Education. State law says the new requirements must be approved before the end of the year.

Kirsten is our education reporter. Contact her at kadair@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @kirsten_adair.