Graduation Requirements

Background

Under NVUSD Board Policy 6146.1, students are required to graduate with 220 credits. This includes the UC a-g requirements, California requirements, and additional electives. The current graduation requirements for NVUSD students meet rigorous expectations:

• Students complete coursework as required by the UC/CSU to graduate from high school.  The UC a-g requirements include two years of history/social science, four years of English, three years of math, two years of science, two years of world language, one year of visual and performing arts, and one year or two semesters of a college preparatory elective.  These requirements are rigorous graduation requirements that position students for college and career readiness.
• California also has state requirements which are: one year of government and economics, and two years of physical education.  
• In addition to the UC a-g and California requirements, the local requirements add 40 credits or four years of electives.

In total, these requirements equal 220 credits. (Every semester that a student successfully passes a course with a D or higher, they earn 5 credits.) 

In October 2021, the state of California passed AB101 which requires school districts to add a one-semester course in ethnic studies to the graduation requirements beginning with the graduating class of 2029-30. To meet this graduation requirement, the NVUSD Board of Education reviewed various options and ultimately approved changes to the high school graduation requirement policy beginning with the Class of 2028 which includes the adoption of a stand-alone semester Ethnic Studies course paired with a stand-alone semester Health course in ninth grade.  The addition of one semester of ethnic studies and one semester of health education will be reflected under the "California” policy column below and represents 10 total credits. 

NVUSD Graduation Requirements