Beatrice district to consider requiring 10 credits each in physical and life science to boost ACT readiness

Beatrice Public Schools officials presented a proposed change to Policy 5205 that would keep the district’s 30-credit graduation requirement for science but require students to complete 10 credits in physical science and 10 credits in life science.

“We want to make sure that our kids have every opportunity to do well on the ACT,” Speaker 3 said, describing a faculty proposal from the Beatrice High School science department. The change, Speaker 3 said, aims to give students more consistent exposure to the data-analysis and physical-science content that appears on the state ACT assessment.

Science teachers at the meeting outlined how students often take biology early and then avoid physics and chemistry, leaving gaps when confronted with ACT items that draw on physical-science principles. Speaker 4 explained that physical-science classes are taught at an algebra level in the district and that more rigorous options (college-level chemistry or physics) remain available for students who opt in.

Board members asked how the requirement would be phased in and whether it would restrict student choice. Speaker 3 said current students would be grandfathered and the requirement would apply to incoming freshmen, with a flowchart created to prevent duplication of content across semester- and year-long courses.

District staff also noted that the ACT itself is evolving: Speaker 3 said the assessment will change in 2026 and described ongoing discussions about how math and science content is weighted. The board set a first reading of the revised policy for October to preserve eligibility for related planning and potential supports.

The proposal is instructional rather than disciplinary; no formal adoption vote was taken at this meeting. The board directed staff to bring the first-reading item in October and to provide more detail on course sequencing and how the change will be communicated to students and families.