I don't know if anyone will be able to help, but it'd be nice if you could try. So, my school is starting to reject people from taking certain vital classes. Due to budget cuts, they had to lay off a chemistry teacher so now there are only two chemistry classes. They are rejecting anyone who can already graduate without chemistry, and I technically am one of those, and I was rejected from taking a chemistry class. But here's the problem, since Freshman year I have been trying to get an honors diploma. I mean all requirements. Or at least, I did. A requirement of it is that you need to have chemistry and physics. All my hard-work was just flushed down the drain because of their inability to manage funds. Is there any kind of US "Equal opportunities in education" law that I can use to make them put me in chemistry? The reasoning behind this is, I should have the opportunity to get an honors diploma, which they have now taken away. And they cant just give me one because they cant put me in the class, the state issues them, not the school. The state doesn't care if the school doesn't have room.
Well, I would go to your guidance counselor (if that's the person who handles signing you up for classes) and make a case with him/her first and see if he/she can do something for you. It's weird that there are only two chemistry classes... at my high school each teacher had to teach at least three classes of a certain subject. In addition to that, we also had different levels: C.P. chemistry (college prep), Honors chemistry, and AP chemistry. Same thing with other science classes: C.P. biology, Honors biology, and AP biology.
If you don't have luck with your guidance counselor, you might discuss other options as well. Perhaps there is a high school correspondence course in chemistry you can take and transfer the credit. Or perhaps you (and your parents) can bitch loudly enough that they'll find another way to make the exception for you; let you take the class at a different school, do independent study with the teacher, etc. If you've been aiming at this for 4 years, it's inexcusable that they can't find a solution to your problem. I wouldn't give up without a strong fight, and maybe even try to get the media's attention; education is a hot-button issue and schools dissing a student because he wants to better himself seems like something the media would love to pick up on.
I have no clue what the laws in your state are but in a lot of states you can take classes at a community college for high school credit.
Yes, I agree with Dan. You can always take a chemistry course at your local community college, but that would require extra effort on your part (night classes most likely two times a week for three hours each). Or if you decide to take it during a summer session it would most likely be four days a week for three hours a day (morning, afternoon, or evening classes). I find it interesting that your high school is not the one who provides you with honors. Is an honors diploma different than being considered an honors graduate? Because when I graduated we automatically got placed into honors depending on our class ranks (top 1% summa cum laude, 10% magna cum laude, 25% cum laude).
You have gotten good advice. If all else fails you could also try virtual school and only take it on there.
Go the community college route. I took calculus at the CC my senior year of high school because my school didn't offer AP Calc. Actually, now that I think of it, I didn't get high school credit I got college credit units which was alot better, but of course that doesn't help your honors diploma situation. So I guess just make sure you get high school credit.
The guidance counselor supports it unfortunately. Yes, it's weird that they only offer two. But that's the world of budget cuts. There are two classes, AP Chemistry (what I signed up for) and Chemistry. My school actually has rules against independent study. I don't know why, but they do. I do plan to bitch very loudly too. That is a good last option, community college that is. The thing is..it costs money. Not as much but it does cost money. Money I don't have. Thanks for all the help. I wonder if just saying "You are required by law to give every student equal opportunities, and you are denying me that! I smell lawsuit!" would work. It seems like it is a nation-wide law I have heard before. And it also seems like threatening someone with a lawsuit, before you file it, makes it void. I don't know, it just seems like harassment. D:
