High school students in Ohio will soon need to take a separate class in world history and civilizations to graduate.

The state legislature last week finalized a bill that will add that half-year course to state graduation requirements for students who start high school in 2017. The bill is now waiting for a signature from Gov. John Kasich.

State Sen. Frank LaRose, R-Copley Township, proposed the requirement last year, but it took a slow and tangled path before passage last week. LaRose said the United States makes up just 4 percent of the world's population and that students need to understand the rest of the world to become part of a global economy.

"The other 96 percent have a rich history the students need to understand," LaRose said. "This won't turn Ohio students into world history scholars, but it's the introduction to it."