State announces new graduation requirements after the cancellation of regents exams

Posted: 11:30 AM, Apr 07, 2020

Updated: 11:30 AM, Apr 07, 2020

By: Megan Erbacher

Photo by: Eileen Buckley

ALBANY, N.Y. (WKBW) — On Monday, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) announced regents exams set to take place in June were canceled. On Tuesday, the department announced new graduation requirements to reflect the cancellation of those exams.

The education department has modified diploma, credential and endorsement requirements for students who were enrolled in grades 7 through 12 in the 2019-2020 school year and intended to take a June 2020 regents exam.

Those students will be exempted from passing June 2020 assessments in order to receive a diploma. The education department says students must meet one of these eligibility requirements in order to qualify for the exemption:

• The student is currently enrolled in a course of study culminating in a Regents examination and will have earned credit in such course of study by the end of the 2019-20 school year; or
• The student is in grade 7, is enrolled in a course of study culminating in a Regents examination and will have passed such course of study by the end of the 2019-20 school year; or
• The student is currently enrolled in a course of study culminating in a Regents examination and has failed to earn credit by the end of the school year. Such student returns for summer instruction to make up the failed course and earn the course credit and is subsequently granted diploma credit in August 2020; or
• The student was previously enrolled in the course of study leading to an applicable Regents examination, has achieved course credit, and has not yet passed the associated Regents examination but intended to take the test in June 2020 to achieve a passing score.

The complete NYSED guidance is available here.

In addition, the Board of Regents has announced it will delay the implementation of the Next Generation ELA and Mathematics state assessments to Spring 2022. The 2019-2020 assessments were not given in schools because of the pandemic.