Hancock County Board of Education members may want to rethink requirements for graduating from high school with “highest honors” — but they should not weaken the academic standards for that.

Board members are being asked to rewrite the “highest honors” criteria, to address the situations of some students who have jobs. Among other things, current rules stipulate honorees must have taken “a full academic schedule…”

Students released early from school so they can go to jobs cannot meet that requirement, Director of Student Services Andrea Dulaney told board members. “That isn’t fair,” she added.

But “highest honors” reflects academic achievement. For the recognition to be meaningful, it cannot reflect a watered-down academic career either in number or difficulty of classes.

By all means, if some adjustment can be made to give early-release students a break on the number of hours they are in school, board members should consider it — providing the graduates have completed a truly rigorous academic program.

Simply reducing the number of classes required would lessen the distinction of “high honors,” however, and should not be considered by the school board.