Graduation Requirements

*Requirements are subject to change by the state legislature

22 TOTAL CREDITS minimum to graduate

The Arkansas Department of Education requires that students must meet the following in order to graduate:

• AR Act 1280------Digital Learning Component (Received during their Health class and/or Virtual Arkansas class) 

• AR Act 480----- Personal Finance (Embedded in their Economics class)

• AR Act 478 -----Civics Naturalization Test (taken before they graduate) to graduate

• **A.C.A. 6-16-152 — Beginning with the entering 9th grade class of 2022-2023, a public high school student shall be required to earn one (1) unit of credit in an ADE-approved high school computer science course before the student graduates. 

Current PHS Course Catalog 

Earning College Credit in High School

PHS offers several opportunities for sophomores, juniors, and seniors to earn college credits while in high school. If you know what college you will attend after high school, it is highly recommended that you follow the directions below to make sure the college credit you receive will be accepted by that college or university!

The Arkansas Division of Higher Education keeps an automatically updated list of courses that universities will accept from other schools on their website. If the college or university you want to attend is not on the list, It is highly recommended that you get a statement in writing (an email will do the trick) from the university's Registrar confirming that the credit will be accepted before you take the class. If this is the case for you, let your Counselor or Career Coach help! We can contact the college or university to get a written guarantee that the credit will be accepted by them when you enroll with them.

NEACTC Courses Available To 10th -12th Graders

To learn more about an individual program of study, click the linked program names below.

Admission requirements to NEACTC programs of study include completion of the registration form including parent/guardian contact information, medical emergency contacts, and all health-related issues.  There is no tuition cost to attend NEACTC.

Certification testing fees in programs of study are paid by NEACTC.  Normally, NEACTC does NOT pay fees for a second test in the event certification test has been initially failed and a duplicate certification testing fee is assessed.

Concurrent college credit enrollment fees, in programs of study where available, are paid by NEACTC.

• Engineering Design & Production Lab

• Automotive Collision Repair

• Automotive Service Technology

• Computer Science - Networking

• Welding Technology

• Culinary Arts

• Hospitality Management / Culinary Arts

• HVACR Certified Technician

• Medical Professions

• Medical Professions/CNA

• Drones-Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)

• Robotics & Automation Technologies

BRTC Career & Technical Center Programs Available to 11th & 12th Graders

Black River Technical College’s Career and Technical Center is a FREE program which enables high school juniors and seniors to get a head start on a career after high school.  Students can graduate with their high school diploma as well as with a BRTC certificate, ready to go right into the workforce.  Juniors and seniors at participating high schools are eligible to apply for the program. The following career pathways are offered through the Career & Technical Center on the Paragould campus:

• Allied Health – CNA, Phlebotomy, RN prereqs, EMT

• Welding

• Industrial Electricity/Electronics

• Machine Tool Technology

• Industrial Automation / Robotics

BRTC does require students to have at least a 2.0 GPA, excellent attendance record, and no on-going discipline issues.