Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

Editorial 

Grand Junction state Sen. Josh Penry hasn’t given up on his effort to enact statewide standards for high school graduation. Good for him.

When a student in Colorado is handed a high school diploma, colleges, universities and prospective employers should know that student has completed basic academic requirements.

Penry said he plans to introduce a bill in the 2008 legislative session to establish statewide graduation standards as part of a package of Republican bills on education reform.

Penry’s bill will likely face the same sort of opposition next year as it did this spring. Opponents argued that it took control from local school boards, emphasized a few subjects to the detriment of others, and would be too costly, especially for small school districts.

Penry has revamped his standards to include more subjects. But it would still require graduates to complete four years of math, four years of English, three years of science and two years of foreign language.

Those subjects are all critical in ensuring Colorado students are capable of competing in an education-driven global marketplace. Penry’s bill deserves approval by the Legislature next year.