Interested in Arts and Foreign Language Courses of Study? Here’s Your Chance to Comment

If you have something to say about the Arts and Foreign Language courses of study, here’s your chance to step up and be heard.

The Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) sent a notice to all superintendents to let interested educators and members of the public know that they have the opportunity to submit comments about the changes they’d like to see.

Neither arts nor foreign language are specifically required in order to receive a high school diploma, but credit for these courses can be used as part of a combined career technical/arts/foreign language 3-credit requirement toward earning a diploma.

Students heading to college should note that some colleges require students to have taken a foreign language and/or art class prior to admission into college. Students should make certain to know what those requirements are before graduation.

For example, the University of Alabama does require applicants to have one year of a foreign language, while Auburn University does not list foreign language as an entry requirement.

Hoover High School’s College and Career Specialist Cindy Bond said, “I encourage all students intending to enroll and complete a four-year degree to consider taking a minimum of two years of foreign language.  For students planning to apply to a competitive college or university, I recommend they plan to complete four to five years of foreign language.  Although the high school diploma does not require it, the college they choose may, so better safe than sorry.”

Nearly all of Hoover High School’s students expect to attend college, according to Bond, and individual student needs must always be considered.

Bond acknowledged that students can change their minds about where they plan to attend college as they make their way through high school, and said she has “a hard time advising underclassmen not to take foreign language based on a specific college or a major they are considering as they will probably change their mind or direction and if they have at least two years they are likely to be covered.”

The course of study committee, appointed at the January board meeting, is in the early stages of their task to recommend changes to these areas of study.

The current course of study can be found here: Arts Education, and Foreign Languages. Both were adopted in 2006 and effective in the 2007-2008 school year.

According to a timeline published on the ALSDE site, these courses of study are set to begin during the 2018-2019 school year.

Deadline for written comments is April 26.

All courses of study can be found here.

Quick read:

Tackling Foreign Language Requirements for College, The Des Moines Register – February 2015

[This article was updated at 1:00 p.m. to include Cindy Bond’s comments. This article was updated March 23 to add “s” to “Art” throughout the article. We regret the error.]