Choosing your 9th grade courses in Frisco ISD

The steps in 8th grade

Frisco ISD posted its 2027-28 High School and Middle School Academic Guides and course catalog this fall. The guides say they may still change until January 2027.

1. Draft a 4-year plan (November–December). Your middle school helps you fill in a paper "4-Year Fillable" plan. The district calls the 4-year plan "like a personal graduation plan."
2. Enter it in Career Plan in HAC (Home Access Center), usually by mid-December. The district's slides say: plan your 9th grade courses "as if they are the ones that you want to take next year," and make sure you have 8 classes each year.
3. Check your 9th grade choices (January–February). The high school sends a 9th grade course verification form, and its counselors go over your 9th grade courses with you. You can still update them then.
4. Last day to change 2027-28 course requests: February 11, 2027. After that, no course changes are allowed, including level changes. The guide lists a few exceptions (athletics, band, choir, orchestra, color guard, drill team, debate and Academic Decathlon), which must be requested by the 7th school day of the year.

Exact dates depend on your middle school

Your middle school counselor sets the dates for paper forms, the HAC deadline and counselor visits. For example, one middle school's email (Pioneer Heritage Middle School, October 27, 2026) lists: paper forms sent home November 17; signed forms due December 4; counselors help enter plans in HAC December 10; last day to edit 4-year plans in HAC December 18; verification forms sent home in January 2027; high school counselors visit February 10, 2027; final deadline February 11, 2027. That email also says "Students cannot move up in level after the deadline." Check your own school's dates.

What a 9th grade schedule looks like

"All 9th and 10th grade students should be enrolled in eight class periods." High school uses an A/B block schedule: four 90-minute classes on "A" days and four on "B" days.

Four of your eight classes are usually the core subjects. These are the 9th grade choices in the district's HAC instructions:

Each of these also has a Frisco Flex online version, which needs a parent's permission. You can see every course, its level and its prerequisites in the Frisco ISD course catalog.

Your other four classes

• PE: "Most freshmen take some sort of PE credit during their ninth grade year." Options include athletics, band in the fall, color guard, cheer, Dance 1 or Drill Team 1 (these two count for both PE and fine arts), Off-Campus PE, NJROTC (at Lebanon Trail) and PE courses.
• Athletics and band take two class periods. Athletics is "double-blocked all year," and band is double-blocked at most high schools. Plan your other classes around that.
• World language: if you take Spanish 1 in 8th grade, sign up for Spanish 2. Spanish, French, Chinese (online) and ASL (at some schools) are offered.
• Speech: freshmen can take Professional Communications or Debate 1.
• Health: "If you took Health in 8th grade, you are done!"
• Technology: for example Computer Science 1 or 1 Advanced, AP Computer Science Principles, Digital Media, AV Production 1, or 3D Modeling & Animation (which counts for both technology and fine arts).
• Electives for freshmen include Leadworthy, Survey of Ag, Survey of Business, Survey of Education, Survey of Law, Intro to Culinary and more.

Pick 4 alternates

The district's slides say you need 4 alternate classes for your 9th grade electives. A program (band, choir, orchestra, a different sport) isn't an alternate. If you don't pick them, the school picks for you, and the middle school guide warns that you "may likely be in one of those courses," so choose them as carefully as your first choices. Some schools ask for one alternate per elective instead; follow your school's instructions.

Band, choir, orchestra, drill team and intermediate theatre placements come from auditions in the spring of 8th grade. Your high school counselor then updates your course requests.

AP and Advanced courses in 9th grade

The district's slides for rising freshmen say freshmen typically take on-level or Advanced courses, and that 2 AP courses are available in 9th grade:

• AP Human Geography (the AP option for 9th grade social studies)
• AP Computer Science Principles (prerequisite: Algebra 1)

The course catalog lists many AP courses for "grades 9–12," but that only means a course isn't locked to one grade. It isn't a list of what 9th graders take. If you're ahead in a subject (for example, you finished Spanish 3 in middle school), ask your counselor what comes next.

Advanced courses

Advanced courses a 9th grader may take include English 1, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Biology, Chemistry, Spanish 3, French 3, Chinese 3, Art 1, Computer Science and GT Humanities I. The guide says "all Advanced courses are open enrollment" and "All AP courses are open enrollment": you don't need to qualify. Students in the gifted and talented program are served through GT Humanities I / English I Advanced in 9th grade.

A first AP course

The high school guide marks five courses as suggested for students who'd like to try their first AP: Human Geography, Computer Science Principles, Precalculus, Psychology and Seminar. Of these, the district lists only the first two for 9th grade. For how AP, Advanced and dual credit work in GPA, see the AP, Advanced and dual credit guide.

How to choose a level

Frisco ISD's own advice, from the 2027-28 High School Academic Guide:

• Advanced courses "Are not simply more work or additional homework" and aren't only for students with good grades. They "Can benefit any student who would like to challenge themselves."
• Choose by your own strengths. "For some students, this may mean choosing only one advanced, AP, IB, Dual Credit course per year." Students with "proven high-levels of academic achievement" may choose several.
• Balance challenge with your other commitments, such as athletics, fine arts, hobbies and things outside school.

Some students take Advanced in the subjects they like most and on-level in others; others take Advanced in every core subject. Your 8th grade teachers and counselor can help you decide which fits you.

If a level turns out wrong

Advanced, AP, IB and GT classes "may only be dropped at the 6 week mark of a course or at the end of the semester," and what's open then depends on space. Moving up a level after February 11 isn't allowed, so if you're unsure, talk it through with your counselor before the deadline. More on drops and course changes is in the 4-year plan guide.

High school courses you take in middle school

• The most common high school credit courses in middle school are Algebra 1, Geometry, Spanish 1 & 2, and Health.
• Their grades go on your high school transcript and count in your high school GPA. They're added once complete and counted in the January GPA and rank run of your freshman year.
• Taking courses early changes what comes next through 12th grade. Your 9th grade math is the next course after the one you finish in 8th grade.
• If you plan to earn credit in summer or by exam to skip ahead, the district says to schedule yourself in the course you're planning to skip, because "You cannot be scheduled into the NEXT course until you have officially earned credit." Prerequisites must be done before July 15, 2027.
• Credit by exam doesn't count in GPA, and students are "strongly discouraged" from using it to skip Algebra I.

Programs with their own application

A few programs need an application during 8th grade, separate from course selection:

• Frisco Collegiate Academy at Memorial High School: new in 2027-28. Students "can begin earning college credit in ninth grade and work toward an Associate of Science degree" with Collin College. Applications open November 11 and close December 11, 2026; only current Frisco ISD 8th graders can apply. The district calendar lists a webinar on November 11 and an in-person night on November 17, 2026.
• IB Diploma Programme at Frisco High School: if more students apply than there are spots, a lottery is used, and students who are selected transfer to Frisco High School in 9th grade. One middle school's email says applications are open October 26 through November 21, 2026.

Other district events on the calendar: a Frisco Flex High School webinar on November 12, 2026, and a CTE Center event on January 28, 2027, during the course registration window. Your counselor can tell you about extra application requirements for each program.

Your endorsement

An endorsement is a focus area for your high school courses (like STEM or Arts & Humanities). You declare your preferred endorsement during course selection between 8th and 9th grade. All Frisco ISD students start high school on the Multidisciplinary Studies plan, and you can change your endorsement during course selection each year.

See the endorsements guide for what each one needs, and the 4-year plan guide for planning all four years. When you're ready, try your plan in the planner.

Official sources

• Frisco ISD: 2027-28 Academic Guides and Course Catalog
• Frisco ISD 2027-28 High School Academic Guide (PDF) (see “Academic Guidance & Course Selection”, “Advanced Academics” and “Schedule Changes”)
• Frisco ISD 2027-28 Middle School Academic Guide (PDF) (see “High School Credit Courses”)
• Frisco ISD slides: Scheduling & Course Information, Welcome Rising Freshmen (2027-28) (district slides, linked from a middle school counselors' page)
• Frisco ISD slides: Complete your Four Year Plan (2027-28)
• Frisco ISD slides: How to Enter your 4-Year Plan in HAC
• Pioneer Heritage Middle School counselors: Rising 9th grade (one school's page) (used only for one school's example dates)
• Frisco ISD district events calendar