Mat-Su school board approves new ‘Choice’ diploma with reduced graduation requirements

What you need to know:

• Starting next year, Mat-Su Central homeschool students will be able to graduate with a new “Educational Choice Diploma,” which keeps the district’s 25.5-credit requirement but eliminates several specialized course mandates.
• The diploma is intended to make graduation more accessible for homeschool families who may have difficulty accessing — or prefer to avoid — Advanced Placement or other specialized classes.
• The plan is part of broader changes aimed at boosting student enrollment and increasing state funding.

PALMER – High school seniors in Mat-Su will be able to graduate with newly lowered academic requirements starting next year under a plan approved by the school board this week.

The "Educational Choice Diploma" will be available to high school seniors enrolled in the Mat-Su Central program starting with the class of 2026. Those students will also have the option of graduating with the district's traditional diploma.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School Board unanimously approved the change during a regular meeting Wednesday. It is part of a series of updates to the district's homeschool program designed to increase enrollment and boost state funding.

The new Choice diploma maintains the 25.5-credit standard required by the district's traditional diploma, but eliminates requirements for several specialty classes, including Advanced Placement courses and specific topics of study within core subjects, according to the policy approved Wednesday.

Like the traditional diploma, the new Choice diploma requires 16 credits in core subjects and allocates 9.5 credits to electives.

Students enrolled in other Mat-Su high schools can transfer to Mat-Su Central and graduate under the Choice diploma, district Superintendent Randy Trani said last month. However, doing so would make them ineligible to participate in their former school's graduation ceremony, he said.

The district's 25.5-credit diploma was first proposed by Trani and approved by the school board in 2021 and is the highest credit requirement in the state. The state minimum is 21 credits.

The Choice option is intended to make graduation more accessible to home-schooled students whose families may have difficulty accessing or choose not to take specialized courses, officials said.

A version of the Choice diploma previously announced by Trani reduced core requirements while increasing electives. The policy approved Wednesday instead keeps those credits within core subjects due to feedback from school board members, he said in an interview.

The diploma update is the second in a pair of changes to Mat-Su Central's program aimed at boosting enrollment and increasing state funding to the district.

School districts in Alaska receive state funding on a per-pupil basis, with amounts determined by several factors, including whether students attend traditional, alternative or correspondence schools.

About 3,000 living in Mat-Su are enrolled in correspondence programs run by other districts with lower graduation requirements, according to state data.

The new Choice diploma could help bring those students - and the state funding that goes with them - back to the district, Trani said.

A related update approved by state education officials late last month is intended to increase funding for the Mat-Su district for some correspondence students. It administratively splits Mat-Su Central into two state-approved schools and boosts state funding for correspondence students who take in-person classes.

Mat-Su Central is the district's largest school, with about 2,800 students across all grades. About 500 of those students took at least one in-person district class this school year, officials said.

About 19,160 students are expected to enroll across all Mat-Su district schools for the 2025-26 school year, according to district estimates.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com