In May 2003, BESE approved the policy enacting the Career/Technical and Academic Diploma Endorsements. According to the Secondary School Redesign Commission, the diploma endorsements will:
- Provide incentives for students to maximize 11th and 12th grades;
- Encourage more students to take Advance Placement courses;
- Encourage students to take advantage of school-to-work courses and opportunities;
- Hold high school accountable for what is taught during the 11th and 12th grades.
The new diploma endorsements are in effect. The Diploma Endorsements will help to provide students with the preparation necessary for college and/or a career. By the same token, employers will be getting better prepared workers, and higher education institutions will have students better prepared for success in their post secondary institutions.
The following are the regulations and criteria of the Louisiana State Department of Education:
Requirements: Pupils must earn a minimum of twenty-three (23) credits in order to be considered eligible for graduation from a senior high school. In most cases, pupils accrue 23 credits over a period of four years. A full year course is defined by Bulletin 741 as 182 class hours of instruction; for schools with seven-period, eight-period day or modified day schedules, the above definitions from Bulletin 741 apply.
In addition, the student must acquire a passing grade for each of the subjects taken in the fourth quarter. If the course is a half credit course, the student must acquire a passing grade for the ending quarter of the course. Students are required to score at or above the Approaching Basic level in English Language Arts and Mathematics and Science or Social Studies.