"Every student who graduates from a Virginia high school should do so with a credential or associate degree that would allow them to “immediately be prepared to go right into life,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in Bristol on Wednesday.

The governor said he plans to announce in December he is seeking a budget amendment to fund expanding the program so that a credential or associate degree is a graduation requirement. 

Doing so would “change lives and opportunities,” Youngkin told Cardinal News. 'So, I believe that we have both the capabilities to expand that extensively. And there’s no reason why it couldn’t be incorporated into our graduation requirements,'" reports Cardinal News.

Photo: Governor Glenn Youngkin speaks in Bristol at the Cardinal News Speaker Series. Photo Credit: Earl Neikirk/Neikirk Image.