Over the past decade, language classes have been disappearing from Oklahoma public schools, reports Oklahoma Watch.
As of last year, a quarter of high schools across the state had eliminated world language classes altogether. The result: hundreds of graduating classes filled with students who’ve missed out on a key component that could better prepare them for college and higher earnings in the job market.
In the decade from 2006 to 2016, the number of Oklahoma high schools that failed to offer a single foreign language quadrupled. A third of Oklahoma high schools now don’t offer a single course.
The trend has been particularly pronounced in rural areas, where many students now have no opportunity to learn Spanish or French, much less Arabic or Japanese.
Oklahoma, like most states, doesn’t require students to take a language class in order to graduate.