The State Board of Education voted Sept. 20 to let some kids, arguably some of the best and brightest high schoolers the state has to offer, go to school for fewer hours per year than the state generally requires. It gave a similar pass to students attending alternative schools, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. It was a bad decision, not only for the students, but for schools in general.

Oregon has both a high school graduation problem and an academic achievement problem. Only about 77 percent of students graduate on time each year, giving us the fourth-lowest rate in the U.S. Its test scores aren’t great, and they’re improving only by inches. And its students already spend less time in class than those in most other states.

All that should have been enough to persuade the board that almost no child in Oregon will truly benefit by less time in class. That’s true of students who struggle; it should be true of those who excel, as well.

Schools are, by definition, set up to teach students. Meeting graduation requirements or taking tough courses do not mean students learn all a school has to offer, even if they attend full time every year. It shouldn’t mean they’ll be allowed to quit once they’ve got the requirements met. Instead, it should mean districts both expect and encourage those students to explore new, perhaps untried, areas of learning.

The reduced-time rules will also apply to students attending alternative schools, many of whom are at the other end of the education spectrum. In other words, the young men and women who most need help to achieve a solid education will be allowed to take a pass on some part of that education. Officials say the rule will become a carrot to lure those students back into the classroom. But, like their peers at the top of the education ladder, these students would be better served by making classes meaningful.

The message in all this is clear: Oregon’s high schools are something to be escaped as quickly as possible, no matter who you are, and the state will help you do it.