Course selection cards for the 2024-2025 school year at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were distributed to freshmen, sophomores and juniors in study halls on Jan. 22 to Jan. 26. The course cards will also be distributed to local middle schoolers that are currently in eighth grade.

Course cards for Coral Springs Middle School will be due on Friday, Feb. 9, and for Westglades Middle School, they will be due on Tuesday, Feb. 20. MSD guidance counselors will be going to every study hall throughout the week of Jan. 23 to Jan. 26 to explain the process of selecting next year’s courses.

Course cards are due on Thursday, Feb. 1 or Friday, Feb. 2 for current MSD students. Students must get their course cards signed off by their teachers as soon as possible for applicable classes. They must be fully completed by Feb. 1 for silver day study halls or Feb. 2 for burgundy study halls.

Due to concerns about overpopulation at MSD in recent years, students are now required to resubmit registration documents for the upcoming school year. This is to make sure that each student lives within the school’s designated area and is eligible to attend MSD. Students must live within the boundaries of MSD unless the student is the child of a Broward County Public Schools employee or active duty military to alleviate overcrowding.

“I think that students that live in Coral Springs and Parkland should be able to go to Douglas because they are close instead of students having to go to Coral Glades,” sophomore Jackson Utter said.

On the course selection form, students are typically required to select four core classes, one each for English, math, science class and social studies. They are also required to select three electives and three alternative electives in case the electives they originally selected do not have space. Some students may have more or less electives and core classes depending on graduation requirements left to meet.

“Picking classes on my course card was difficult since there is such a wide selection of classes to take,” freshman Quinn Kuebler said.

Many classes, particularly electives, Advanced Placement, new [AICE], and honors courses, require a signature from teachers to approve the student for the class. However, if students would like to take a certain class without a teacher’s approval, they can fill out a form down in guidance.

After forms are turned in, the guidance counselors take a composite of the selected core classes and electives, combining them to create an official schedule. Along with the seven classes chosen, students, except for select rising seniors, will have a mandated study hall period.

After course cards are turned in, students will meet with their designated guidance counselors to discuss their selections for the upcoming school year.