High School Graduation Requirements

The mission of Jeffco Public Schools is to provide a quality education that prepares all children for a successful future. Graduation requirements, adopted by the Jefferson County Board of Education, call for each student to have a six year Graduation Plan beginning in seventh grade.

The plan will be the student's roadmap toward completing high school successfully and making good career decisions. Creating this plan will be a partnership between the student, parents and school staff.

The district requires the following high school credits to receive a diploma:

Beginning with the graduation class of 2021, students will be required to meet or exceed the following graduation requirements to receive a diploma from Jeffco Public Schools. 

Higher Education Admission Requirements

Page updated March 30, 2015 and located HERE

In 2003, the Colorado Commission on Higher Education adopted the Higher Education Admission Requirements which are entry requirements for students planning to attend any of Colorado’s public four-year colleges or universities. The requirements go into effect in two phases: Phase 1 for students graduating in 2008 and 2009, and Phase 2 for students graduating in 2010 and beyond. Private colleges and universities set their own admission standards, so students should contact those institutions directly for information regarding their enrollment policies. Additionally, public two-year colleges have open enrollment policies, meaning that students applying to these schools do not need to meet the following admissions requirements.

Students planning to attend a four-year college or university in Colorado will need to complete the following classes in order to fulfill the Higher Education Admission Requirements. In addition to the Higher Education Admission Requirements, students must also meet the Admission Eligibility Index.

Meeting the Higher Education Admissions Requirements does not guarantee admission to a four-year public institution. Colleges and universities may have additional requirements.

* CCHE, CDE, and School Districts are developing standards for alternative demonstration of proficiency to be accepted in lieu of course completion.
**Two units of ESL English may count for HEAR requirements when combined with two units of successfully completed college preparatory English.
***College-preparatory ESL mathematics/science courses that include content and academic rigor/level comparable to other acceptable courses may satisfy HEAR requirements.
****American Sign Language (ASL) courses can count toward the Word/Foreign Language requirement.

*****Acceptable Academic Electives include additional courses in English, mathematics, natural/physical sciences and social sciences, foreign languages, art, music, journalism, drama, computer science, honors, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate courses, and appropriate CTE courses.

The Colorado Commission on Higher Education does not review individual high school courses to determine whether or not they meet Colorado’s Higher Education Admissions Requirements. Because local school districts in Colorado oversee their high school curricula and colleges and universities establish their own entrance requirements, it is their discretion to determine what coursework meets the Higher Education Admission Requirements.