During a school board meeting during last school year, Hillsborough County decided to require students, starting with the class of 2023, to take physics in order to graduate and walk the stage to get their diploma. Current juniors were surprised during open house when they got their schedules seeing how instead of getting a science class such as marine biology or forensics, they got put into physics.
However, students who took Introduction to Physical Science, IPS, in middle school are still don’t know if they must take physics because they already earned their high school credit in physics. While those students are confused about if they are required to take physics, students who went to middle schools who didn’t offer IPS are now forced to take physics so that way they can walk the stage when it comes time to graduate.
“It’s kind of unfair how Hillsborough County is requiring us to take physics especially last minute for juniors because some of us had plans of what we were going to take for the next two years but now our plans are spoiled due to us being forced to take a class some of us couldn’t take in middle school. For instance, I went to a Pasco County middle school that didn’t offer IPS like Martinez and Walker did, so I have to take physics this year now,” said junior Isabelle Osorio.
While juniors like Osorio must take physics, students who enrolled in Advanced Placement classes, AP classes, such as AP Chemistry or AP Environmental Science didn’t have to worry about their classes being changed due to them signing up to a class that’s as rigorous or even more rigorous as physics. Although students who took those AP classes this year, they still may be forced to take physics next year when they’re a senior even if they took IPS in middle school.
Due to their meeting during last school year, Hillsborough County school board members have voted to make physics a graduation requirement, causing a lot of changes to current junior’s schedules. Even though many juniors are upset with this decision many are excited to take the class and look forward to some labs they’ll participate in during the year.
Zach Babajanof // Sports Editor
