SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Longer Day for Some 8th-Graders

Some junior high students in the Capistrano Unified School District will have a longer school day, thanks to a decision by the Board of Trustees this week to add an extra period to the school day as part of a new eighth-grade science requirement.

Beginning in the fall of 1991, eighth-graders will be required to take a semester of science but may voluntarily take the class as a zero or seventh period. District officials are offering the extra period to students who might be forced to drop elective classes during the normal school day to meet the science requirement.

Board members approved the measure by a 6-1 vote. Trustee Annette Gude dissented, saying that increased science requirements would force more non-college bound students to drop out of school.

Gude also objected to a provision in the measure requiring parents to provide transportation for students taking the extra class. Children whose parents could not provide transportation would be forced to take the class during the day, she said. But Asst. Supt. Bill Eller said that extra bus service would cost $160,000 each school year.