AUBURN — After hearing School Department administrators explain why they need more time, the School Committee voted 6-1 Wednesday night to ask the state for an extension on issuing proficiency-based diplomas.

The request to the Maine Department of Education will ask for a two-year delay in adhering to the state law that says school districts are to offer high school graduates a performance-based diploma beginning in 2018.

If the extension is granted, Auburn would not have to provide them until after July 1, 2020. The Class of 2021 would be the first to earn the new diplomas, which will be awarded when students prove they have mastered what they need to know, rather than passing courses and accumulating credits.

Lewiston High School will offer its Class of 2018, this year’s freshmen, performance-based diplomas.

Shelly Mogul, Auburn schools’ curriculum director, said parts of the new diploma would be implemented before 2021. Science, math and English will be performance-based beginning with Edward Little High School’s Class of 2019. More subjects would be added in 2020.

Auburn Superintendent Katy Grondin told the School Committee that a Maine Superintendents Association update showed that many districts across Maine are asking the state for extensions.

“I would like this to come sooner, but knowing it’s gradual makes it more palatable,” said City Councilor Mary LaFontaine, the mayor’s representative on the committee.

“If we’re able to move faster, we will,” Mogul said.

Committee member Ron Potvin voted against the extension. Voting for it were LaFontaine, Tom Kendall, Bonnie Hayes, Peter Letourneau, Laurie Tannenbaum and Larry Pelletier.

Auburn needs more time because it is focusing on reforming how students learn through mass customized learning, which means lessons are tailored to each student with the goal of students owning their educations. That is changing the culture, Mogul said.

In the application to the state, Auburn said that part of the shifting school culture is that students be able to articulate what they are learning, not simply what they are doing.

Auburn is also incorporating different ways of learning, Mogul said. An example would be an agriculture class in which students learn hands-on chemistry. Another could be lessons students learn by becoming Eagle Scouts.

“Our vision says you can learn outside the classroom. That’s the other piece that’s big for us,” Mogul said.

It will take time, she said, to align standards for the new diploma.

In other business:

* The committee heard reports from high school students on attending the University of Maine’s SMART Institute where they learned about science, technology, engineering and math. The students are working with the Auburn Water District, testing and monitoring water quality.

* The committee heard about a five-week summer “Jumpstart” program given to 11 students who began kindergarten in September.

The students were below their peers in preschool skills; the summer program worked with them and their parents to improve their letter skills. The program, which cost $14,000 and was paid for by federal Title I money. It did boost students’ letter skills,Washburn Elementary School kindergarten teacher Sue LaRue said.