Between extra curricular activities and intense testing, finals week takes a toll on students. However, new plans for final exemptions may relieve stress and motivate students in class.

“There’s a group of students who serves as an advisory board for Mr. Townsend and they brought up how they would really like for exemptions to come back,” vice principal Sheila McCollum said.

Although all of these regulations are subject to change before the school board meeting, the requirements state that the number of absences approved is in accordance to their semester grade. If students have an 80 to 84, there are no allowed absences. From an 85 to 89, there is only one allowed absence. A 90 to 94 allows two absences. Then, for a grade 95 or above, there is a maximum of three allowed absences. Seniors can exempt six classes, juniors can exempt five, sophomores can exempt four and freshman are allowed three. These exemptions will hopefully motivate students to work to their full potential throughout the semester and save them from unnecessary strain.

“Exemptions will definitely take the stress off the end of the year,” sophomore Sarah Crouse said.

Along with a reduction in student stress, it will also portray a more accurate grade in class without weighing in finals.

“I had exemptions at my old school, and it was super because everybody wasn’t stressed about finals,” junior Morgan Sarchet said.

This change will not only help students, but also assist teachers in motivating them to get their work done.

“I definitely think they should bring exemptions back,” said World History teacher Konstance Thompson. “I don’t think we have lots of incentives around here, so I think that’s a good starting place.”

Along with adding motivation for grades, it can be used to make sure students are staying on the right path.

“They felt like that was a reward for having good grades and a low amount of tardies,” said McCollum.