Homewood-Flossmoor High School students with enough credits to graduate this month are being offered the option of enrolling in college courses at Prairie State College for the spring semester.

The District 233 school board approved the pilot program that calls for the students to stay enrolled at H-F for one or two courses and enroll for two courses at PSC. The board allocated $45,990 in Title I funds to cover tuition. Administrators believe as many as 45 students are eligible for the early college enrollment pilot.

Superintendent Jennifer Norrell said she brought the proposal to the board at its Nov. 18 meeting because H-F has seniors with enough credits to graduate in December, rather than take another six H-F classes in the spring semester. The students intended to still call themselves H-F students so they could attend prom and other school activities. Norrell said laws prohibit that option.

The pilot program keeps them in the senior class until graduation in May but gives them a head start on earning college credit.

“H-F has never been in the game for early college,” Norrell said. Other districts already have programs in place. The school board considered this option in 2024 but didn’t give final approval.