Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana has approved legislation creating a new public school curriculum with lowered academic standards, waving aside objections from education advocates who say the change will produce high school graduates who lack basic English and math skills.
Under the new law, students 15 and older could leave the standard curriculum and take a “career track” if they received parental approval.
Graduates choosing the new track would get a diploma designed to get them into a two-year technical school or community college but not four-year schools.