Passing high school biology no longer would be required to graduate from a Lawrence public high school, under a plan that will be considered by the Lawrence school board.

The move to pull the biology requirement, plus a recommendation to make a consumer science course at the junior high schools be an elective rather than a requirement, is in response to state and federal mandates, district officials say.

Both adjustments would free time in the school day for students struggling in reading or math to get extra help they need, said Tom Christie, the district’s executive director for curriculum. And the shifts eventually could help student test scores and graduation rates.

“I don’t think we have a choice but to make these changes,” he said.

Public school districts are under increasing pressure from the federal No Child Left Behind law to bolster student achievement in reading and math, and that push is expected to eat into time devoted in the past to other courses.

The state also adopted new graduation requirements for science that apply to the graduating class of 2009, which is now in seventh grade.

The two science curriculum proposals will be considered by the Lawrence school board at its Nov. 24 meeting. If approved, both would be in place beginning with the 2004-2005 school year.

Board member Sue Morgan said she supported the changes but expected special-interest groups of teachers or parents would “vehemently, passionately” challenge the proposed curriculum shake-up.

“Making some systematic change is absolutely necessary in order to stay ahead,” said Leni Salkind, the board’s vice president.

Board member Leonard Ortiz said dropping the biology requirement could hinder students’ ability to be successful in college.

Currently, the district requires ninth-graders to enroll in biology and demands successful completion of that course for graduation.

But some students repeatedly fail biology and can’t move on to fulfill other science credits.

“We have some students who are seniors in high school still trying to pass biology,” said Lynda Allen, the district’s director of math and sciences.

Dropping biology as a requirement, and starting a new course, Science Explorations, for students with a weak foundation in math might make it more likely they’ll earn the three science course credits the state will require for graduation by 2009, she said.

The family and consumer science course is taken by all seventh-graders. The course focuses on life skills, including wellness, nutrition, sewing, cooking and child care.

It’s a popular class and enrollment may remain strong even if it becomes an elective, said Phyllis Lewin, a counselor at Southwest Junior High School.

However, she said, the switch wouldn’t be universally supported by teachers.

“When you take something that’s been called a requirement and now say it’s an elective, there are going to be teachers who aren’t going to feel positive about that,” she said.

Other proposed curriculum changes:

• Make the introductory foreign language course in French, German and Spanish an elective.
• Require all students to take a math and science class in 10th grade.
• Stop subsidizing the cost of textbooks for district students taking calculus courses at Kansas University.