CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / SANTA ANA
High schoolers will have an easier time earning diplomas after the school board decided this week to reduce graduation requirements from 240 to 220 credits.
The board of Orange County’s largest school district voted 4 to 1 late Tuesday to cut world geography, earth science, health, and college and career planning as required courses as a way to retain more students. Administrators and school counselors said the move will free up jammed student schedules and boost graduation rates.
Santa Ana raised its requirements in 2000 to among the state’s strictest, saying the higher standards would challenge more students to aim for college.
-- Tony Barboza
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