Legislation to revise Florida’s high school graduation requirements cleared the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee on Thursday in a unanimous 18-0 vote, advancing a measure that would eliminate longstanding mandates for students to pass two key standardized assessments to earn a diploma.
Senate Bill 166, sponsored by Sen. Corey Simon, would remove the requirement for students to pass the statewide standardized Grade 10 English Language Arts assessment and the Algebra I end-of-course exam as a condition of graduation. Under the proposed changes, students would still be required to take the assessments, but their scores would no longer determine diploma eligibility. Instead, a student’s performance on the Grade 10 ELA exam would comprise 30 percent of the final course grade, aligning it with other end-of-course tests such as Geometry and Biology.
The legislation would maintain the current 24-credit framework for a standard diploma, including mandated coursework in English, mathematics, science, and social studies, along with a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or higher.
The bill also revises statutes affecting transfer students, specifying that those entering a Florida public high school from out of state, a private school, or home education program would not be required to take the Algebra I or Grade 10 ELA assessments if they have already received course credit. Previously, such students were required to pass the assessments or demonstrate concordant scores unless exempted under specific provisions.