CCS Graduation Requirements
Future Ready Course of Study Leading to a High School Diploma:
Students entering ninth grade for the first time in 2021-2022 or afterwards must pass the following courses and earn at least 22 credits:
Four sequential English credits which shall be:
- English I
- English II
- English III
- English IV
Four Mathematics credits which shall be either:
- NC Math 1, 2, and 3 and a fourth mathematics course to be aligned with the student’s post high school plans
- In the rare instance a principal exempts a student from the Future-Ready Core mathematics sequence, except as limited by N.C.G.S. §115C-81(b), the student will be required to pass: NC Math 1 and Math 2 plus two additional courses identified on the NC DPI Math options chart.
Notes: A fourth-level mathematics course is required for UNC minimum requirements, this includes Math IV, Precalculus, and other higher level courses.
Three Science credits which shall be:
- a physical science course
- Biology
- an earth/environmental science course
Four Social Studies credits which shall be:
- Founding Principles of the United States of America and North Carolina: Civic Literacy
- Economics and Personal Finance
- American History
- World History
One Health and Physical Education credit:
- Students are required to successfully complete CPR instruction to meet Healthful Living Essential Standards as a requirement for high school graduation.
- Accommodations/alternative assessments for students identified by ADA or IDEA will be provided.
Two Elective credits of any combination from either:
- Career and Technical Education (CTE) or
- Arts Education or
- World Language
Note: For clarification, possible elective combinations may include 2 World Language credits; or 1 CTE credit and 1 Arts Education credit; or 2 CTE credits; or 1 Arts Education credit and 1 World Language credit; or other combinations from a, b and c.
Four Elective credits from the following (four-course concentration recommended):
- Career and Technical Education (CTE)
- ROTC
- Arts Education (e.g., dance, music, theater arts, visual arts)
- Any other subject area or cross-disciplinary courses (e.g., mathematics, science, social studies, English and dual enrollment courses)
NOTE: Beginning in fall 2022, students entering Grade 6 and subsequently entering Grade 9 for the first time in 2025-26 shall have at least one arts education course in grades 6-12.
- Students must complete the standard course of study (no local electives) for a given arts education course in its entirety to satisfy this requirement. After-school activities or partial courses do not fulfill this graduation requirement.
- Students who transfer into a public school unit beginning in the ninth grade or later may be exempt, if such a requirement would prevent a student from graduating with the graduation cohort to which the student was assigned when transferring.