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School board sends proposed cut to math graduation credits out for 45-day public review
Summary
The Laramie County School District #1 Board of Trustees voted to publish proposed revisions reducing required math credits for graduation from four years to three for incoming 2025 freshmen; the board will accept public comment for 45 days before a final decision.
The Laramie County School District #1 Board of Trustees voted to send proposed revisions to Chapter 8, Section 7 (graduation requirements) out for a 45-day public review period on Jan. 27, 2025. The draft would reduce required mathematics credits for students entering ninth grade in 2025 from four years to three.
The proposal was placed on public review so community members, educators and parents can submit comments between Jan. 28, 2025, and March 14, 2025. Superintendent John Newton told the board the district will host the public posting on the district website and accept written comments by email.
Why it matters: The change would apply to students who enter ninth grade in fall 2025 and could alter course placements and staffing at the high-school level. Trustees debated whether to lower the district standard or instead create alternative tracks that preserve four years of math for college-bound students while giving other students a different pathway.
Student and union speakers urged the board to keep rigorous math requirements. Abby O’Dell, a student at Cheyenne Central High School, addressed the board during public comment and urged trustees not to reduce the requirement. “I believe that every single person at Central High School deserves the opportunity for success, we should keep this math requirement,” she said. Dylan Ford, identified as president of CTA, said most math teachers who responded to his outreach oppose lowering the requirement and urged the board to consider alternatives such as structured math labs for struggling students rather than reducing credits.
Trustees described competing priorities. Trustee Claassen said she could not support lowering the district standard and would vote no on the proposal if it came to a final adoption. Trustee Ashby and others urged the district to gather public input before making a final decision; Ashby asked that the district use district communication channels and community outreach to solicit feedback. Dr. Newton and board legal/policy staff noted that any substantially different plan—such as creating separate college and career/technical tracks with different math-credit requirements—would itself need policy review and likely another public review period.
The board voted to post the proposed change for public review. The motion passed with five trustees in favor and two opposed. The district said the draft and comment instructions will be available on the district’s board docs page and the administration building during the comment window.
Next steps: The board will collect public comments through March 14 and consider those responses at a future meeting before deciding whether to adopt, amend or reject the proposed change.
