Requirements changing for incoming freshmen

Recent state legislation is changing the graduation requirements for students entering the 2011 – 2012 school year as ninth-graders.

Buddy Hinote, director of the department of high schools for the Santa Rosa County school district, said the state has not sent him all of the details yet, but incoming freshmen will have to take an online course as part of the 24 credits required to graduate.

He also said if those students have taken an online course in middle school or are enrolled part time or full time in one of the county’s virtual instructional programs, those would count for this new requirement.

“I think they [legislators] are pretty flexible on the requirements; they just want students to experience online courses,” said Hinote. “It’s very general at this point.”