(A) The board of education of each city, exempted village, and local school district and the board of each cooperative education school district established, pursuant to section 3311.521 of the Revised Code, shall prescribe a curriculum for all schools under its control. Except as provided in division (E) of this section, in any such curriculum there shall be included the study of the following subjects:

• (1) The language arts, including reading, writing, spelling, oral and written English, and literature;
• (2) Geography, the history of the United States and of Ohio, and national, state, and local government in the United States, including a balanced presentation of the relevant contributions to society of men and women of African, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and American Indian descent as well as other ethnic and racial groups in Ohio and the United States;
• (3) Mathematics;
• (4) Natural science, including instruction in the conservation of natural resources;
• (5) Health education, which shall include instruction in:
• (a) The nutritive value of foods, including natural and organically produced foods, the relation of nutrition to health, and the use and effects of food additives;
• (b) The harmful effects of and legal restrictions against the use of drugs of abuse, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco;

(C) Beginning with students who enter ninth grade for the first time on or after July 1, 2010, except as provided indivisions (D) to (F) of this section, the requirements for graduation from every public and chartered nonpublic high school shall include twenty units that are designed to prepare students for the workforce and college. The units shall be distributed as follows:

• (1) English language arts, four units;
• (2) Health, one-half unit, which shall include instruction in nutrition and the benefits of nutritious foods and physical activity for overall health;
• (3) Mathematics, four units, which shall include one unit of algebra II or the equivalent of algebra II, or one unit of advanced computer science as described in the Standard adopted pursuant to division (A)(4) of section 3301.079 of the Revised Code. However, students who enter ninth grade for the first time on or after July 1, 2015, and who are pursuing a career-technical instructional track shall not be required to take algebra II or advanced computer science, and instead may complete a career-based pathway mathematics course approved by the department of education as an alternative. For students who choose to take advanced computer science in lieu of algebra II under division (C)(3) of this section, the school shall communicate to those students that some institutions of higher education may require algebra II for the purpose of college admission. Also, the parent, guardian, or legal custodian of each student who chooses to take advanced computer science in lieu of algebra II shall sign and submit to the school a document containing a statement acknowledging that not taking algebra II may have an adverse effect on college admission decisions. (4) Physical education, one-half unit;