Ahhh-- maybe not SPECIFICALLY, no-- but in my state, at least, there are two requirements in mathematics which are a de facto requirement there.
1. All students must complete Geometry-- 1 yr
2. All students must complete one year of algebra.
3. Three years of mathematics at/beyond Algebra I are required for graduation with a regular {state} high school diploma.
So yes, in fact, in the sequence Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and Precalculus, students MUST pass Algebra II in order to graduate with a regular (not "modified") diploma.
Wow.
In CA, the requirement is two years of high school math minimum, including Algebra I. The other year was satisfied by some of my friends on the five year plan (3-year school) with a class called "Business Math," which looked a lot like 6th grade arithmetic to me.
In LA, you have to finish Algebra I (which you can split into two years) and Geometry.
Precisely-- the way that most schools HERE get around it is to build fluff courses that nominally have Algebra I as a "prerequisite" for the class...
(now, that's all done with a wink and nudge, since my DD took one of those classes just because the subject matter interested her, but it was NOTHING like "requiring" algebra I skills-- or, for that matter, pre-algebra ones).
So there is still very definitely a shell game happening there. It's just that two years PAST algebra I is a state requirement, and in smaller schools, that effectively means "algebra II" or a modified diploma (intended for SpEd students), since they lack the resources to teach both Algebra II and geometry
as well as those made-up courses that appear to meet the terms of the state's requirements without, you know, actually being threshing machines for the less mathematically able students.
The upshot is that while the state doesn't
say that algebra II is a required course, what it
does require pretty much means that it is; unless schools play games with courses that are merely fluff with exalted titles and faux prerequisites. I'm pretty sure that DoE isn't actually checking for content level.
