Each and every year, thousands of students in District 211 meet and plan with their counselor to organize their schedules for the following year. Past rules have allowed flexibility in choosing course options, but situations have now changed. Students were recently informed on the newly made regulations towards schedule making that will be implemented starting next year, and it’s safe to say many are disappointed, even hustling to figure out how to work with the changes.

The news hit classrooms like a storm: starting next year students must have a full period lunch and gym class in their daily schedule. Additionally, “early bird” class slots that start at 7:45 designed for those taking a period and a half science classes will no longer be guaranteed to run.

The shock could practically be felt in the lunchroom when the news began to spread. It didn’t make a lot of sense, especially for those wanting to excel in their education.

According to the Palatine High School 2024-2025 school profile, 683 students took advanced placement exams in the 2023-2024 school year. Of course, several of those test takers happened to be enrolled in some kind of advanced placement science course, some of which are two and a half periods long such as AP Physics 1 and 2, AP Chemistry and AP Biology.

A common route students take is to request for the “early bird option” so that they can still have an open elective spot in their schedule. However, the new regulations will completely halt this practice. By removing the early bird option as well as enforcing a full lunch, these originally one and a half period long AP classes will be enlarged to a two period class, all of which must fit during the regular school day.

This poses a great problem for many students, especially the future seniors who have a desire to take two advanced placement science courses. The answer is short and simple: with the new regulations, it’s practically impossible. Even if a student chose to take a two period AP science course alongside a one period AP science course, there is no longer an available schedule slot for extra electives. Math, two period science and one period science classes altogether would fill up all elective slots, leaving no room for additional ones.

Due to this, current juniors in elective classes such as orchestra and choir are facing a dilemma in whether to prioritize their academic or performing arts classes. Lower classmen will have to work around this future obstacle.

At the end of the day, it’s unfair that students who want to excel will be unable to take desired classes simply because of regulations that get in their way.