Should Schools Stop Requiring Foreign Language Classes?

The House Education Committee, hoping to free up more options for students when it comes to high school electives, approved two bills earlier this month in Lansing that would eliminate the foreign language requirement for graduation.

The proposal aims to give students not headed to college more vocational options in school by eliminating the two-year foreign language requirement, but the Michigan Department of Education opposes the bill, according to The Detroit News.

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"Students, regardless of post-secondary plans, will benefit tremendously with at least one additional language to be competitive in the global marketplace," spokesman Martin Ackley said in the report. "World languages is essential for all of our students."

The Ferndale Public Schools district requires students to take at least two years of one foreign language and offers several options, including Spanish, French and German, said Stephanie Hall, who serves as director of community relations.

Students also can take Japanese at the Center for Advanced Studies and the Arts in Oak Park, she added.

House Bills 4465-4466 would also modify required credits in physical education, the arts, career and technical education, science and math, according to the Livingston Daily Press & Argus.

The bills await a full House vote.