LA School Board To Consider Plan Allowing 'D' Students To Graduate

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — In what is being billed as a major reversal, Los Angeles school officials may be set to vote on a plan that would allow students with a "D" grade to graduate.

Under current Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) policy, students are required to pass college prep courses with a "C" grade or better.

But officials began considering a resolution (PDF) introduced by board members Monica Garcia, Steve Zimmer and George McKenna after a school audit found only about 37 percent meet that tougher standard.

If approved, the "D" grade would be enough to graduate from any LAUSD high school.

Graduates hoping to attend University of California and Cal State University would still need a "C" or better to be eligible for enrollment.

School board members were scheduled to take up the proposal on June 9.

The vote would mark a dramatic departure for the LAUSD school board, which as recently as 2012 had been considering a plan that would require all students to take advanced courses and earn at least a "C" in order to graduate.