On August 4, 2017, the Utah State Board of Education took the bold step of allowing local school districts and charter schools to decide for themselves to what extent seventh- and eighth-graders will be required to take fine arts, health, physical education, college and career readiness and world language classes.
These requirements typically fill up about 25 percent of a student’s required course load. Local schools now get to choose whether to require these classes of students, though they are still required to provide access to these classes.
How much can we require of students before they simply become robots, get the necessary grade, and move on?