State approves waiver on Arundel curriculum

The State Board of Education granted Anne Arundel County middle schools a last-minute reprieve yesterday from a mandated curriculum change that would have forced a shake-up of pupils' class schedules in the middle of the school year.

By an 11-1 vote, the state board granted the county a waiver for this year from the state requirement that all middle school children take fine arts, health and physical education courses every year. But the board said Anne Arundel schools must meet the requirement by next fall - and they will have to do it under state supervision.

"We want to be sure that every nuance of the requirement is integrated into the plan," state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick said. Her office will review the county's plan in the spring, and then it will go to the state board for approval.