Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Grade Requirements Changed For Arkansas High School Students

from State Sen. Mike Ross

The State Board of Education has changed the grade requirements for students to be eligible to participate in extra-curricular activities.

The previous requirement, in place since the 1992-93 school year, had been for students to maintain a 2.0 grade point average to be eligiable for activities. On a scale in which 4.0 is the best grade, or an A, a 2.0 equals a C average.

A survey by the State Department of Education estimates that about 41,000 students were barred from activities due to the 2.0 requirement last year. They represented about 22 percent of the secondary school students.

Under the new requirements, students who fail to maintain the 2.0 grade point average can still participate in activities if they do well on certain achievement tests.

Students whose grades are lacking and who also fail to meet the testing requirement have another option -- they can enroll in supplemental education programs, for at least 100 minutes a week. They also must have no more than three unexcused absences in a semester and they must not get into trouble that causes them to be disciplined.

The State Board of Education is drawing up the regulations for implementing the new grade requirements, which will include notice to parents when their children lose eligibility.

The board voted six to five to change the grade requirements. Some educators expressed concern that many schools had not followed through with tutoring and specialized education for those students who had failed to make the 2.0 grade average, instead letting them fall farther behind academically.

The board agreed to evaluate its requirement on a regular basis to determine how manhy students raise their grades above 2.0, and how many stay in school when their grades fall below the 2.0 level.

It's important to remember that the change does not affect the current requirements for graduation from high school.

State Human Services Department officials reported to a legislative committee that the department had reduced from 72 hours to 64 hours a month the maximum amount of home care for Medicaid patients. The reduction in services is an attempt to cut costs so the Medicaid program meets its annual budget.

If the patient's physcian and the home health provider document a need for more hours, the restrictions may be waived, Medicaid oficials said.

About 10,000 Arkansas residents receive home health services, which cost the state and federal governments about $65 million a year. Home health care allows many elderly people to stay home and lead more independent lives, rather than go into nursing homes. For the government, home health care is less expensive than nursing home care.

Medicaid pays for nursing home care for about 75 percent of the residents in Arkansas nursing home facilities.

Human services officals also reported that they will reduce by 15 percent the amounts paid to hospitals for delivering the babies of Medicaid patients. A spokesman for the Arkansas Hospital Associatison expressed opposition to the cuts, saying they would have a negative financial impact on small, rural hospitals that rely heavily on Medicaid patients.