Students who finish the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program will not have to meet some requirements for an Oregon high school diploma in the future, thanks to the passage of House Bill 4137, which was signed into law by Governor Tina Kotek in early March. These include obtaining credits in the following courses: physical education (PE), government, economics and health, among others. 

The IB Diploma is a rigorous educational program intended for high school students wanting to challenge themselves and get better college preparation. However, fitting in required courses for the IB Diploma and the Oregon high school diploma, in addition to desired electives, can be impossible for some students. 

The IB Diploma requires IB Theory of Knowledge and IB Seminar, on top of the six IB subject areas – language arts, language acquisition, experimental sciences, the arts, social sciences and mathematics. A high school diploma includes government, economics, health 1 & 2, two semesters of PE and other core requirements. Some students have to take online courses over the summer to fit in all the credits necessary to graduate with an IB Diploma, making access to the IB Diploma Program difficult for students who can’t afford to pay for online course fees. 

This bill’s first reading was on Feb 5. 2024. The third reading, carried out by representative Lisa Reynolds on Feb. 15, passed in the House. Public hearings and work sessions were held the last week of February, and on Mar. 1, the Speaker of the Oregon House and President of the Oregon Senate signed the bill. Lastly, just two weeks ago, Tina Kotek signed the bill, making it a law.

“Currently, as an IB Diploma Candidate, I have minimal room in my schedule to take fun or interesting classes due to the amount of classes required to achieve both an IB Diploma and a standard high school diploma,” Tualatin High School junior and IB Diploma Candidate Daniel Kehoe-Ellis shared. “If this bill is passed, I would have greater freedom to take elective classes that interest me.” 

The inability to fit in all the requirements has deterred students from attempting the IB Diploma in the past. Students who successfully earn the IB Diploma often save the equivalent of a full year of college tuition as a result. 

“Furthermore, from talking to other students I know, I learned that the fact that these students would have little room for elective classes in their schedules if they were to do the IB Diploma was a big deterrent for them from joining the IB program,” Kehoe-Ellis said. “I believe the bill should be passed to allow for more freedom when making a class schedule and to help recruit people into the IB Program.” 

The fate of the law’s implementation is still to be determined, as the law directs the State Board of Education to create a rule that makes the IB Diploma equivalent to the Oregon high school diploma. At press time, it is not clearly stated when this will happen, allowing the law to go into effect.