COLUMBUS (WCMH) — The state school board has a plan to try and divert a 2018 graduation crisis in Ohio. Under new graduation requirements set to take effect next year school officials have predicted as many as 30% of seniors will not graduate.

2018 graduation requirements currently mandate a senior has completed a minimum of 20 required credits, and then earn a cumulative passing score of 18 points using seven end-of-course state tests, or earn a satisfactory score on a nationally recognized college admission exam, or earn an industry credential.

Education officials have said many school districts and charter schools will not be able to meet these new rules, leading to thousands of kids not graduating, leading to these recommended changes.

To prevent a large drop in graduation rates, the state schools board is recommending Tuesday that current juniors still take end-of-course exams that are new for their class, but they would still be able to graduate without passing them if they took all seven tests and they met at least two other conditions, like a 93% percent attendance rate, a senior GPA of 2.5 or 120 hours of senior work experience or community service.

State Superintendent Paolo DeMaria presented this compromise after a work group reviewed the graduation requirements and looked at how to prevent a sharp decline in graduation rates. The group met at least six times from January to March.

The state board still needs approval from Ohio lawmakers to officially make these changes. Meaning the fate of thousands of 2018 high school graduates, will soon be debated at the Capitol.