NY's Department of Education adjusts Regents requirements for graduation

The state Department of Education has announced that high school students who would have taken the June Regents exam will not need it to graduate.

News 12 Staff

Apr 7, 2020, 9:23 PM

Updated 1,471 days ago

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A day after Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered all schools in the state to remain closed for an additional two weeks, new guidance has been offered on how schools should operate.
The state Department of Education has announced that high school students who would have taken the June Regents exam will not need it to graduate.
To qualify for the exemptions from the exams, students must meet one of the following requirements:
- A student must be enrolled in a course that would have ended in a Regents exam, and have earned a passing grade and credit for that class.
- If the student is in a Regents class but failed to earn the credit by the end of the year, the student must return for summer instruction to make up the failed course and earn the course credit. That student would get his or her diploma in August of 2020.
- The student was previously enrolled in the class leading to a Regents exam, has achieved course credit but needed to take the test for a passing score.
Betty Rosa, chancellor of the state Board of Regents, described the testing waivers as measures that put the health and safety of students first.
"In times of crisis, difficult decisions must be made and the Board of Regents knows these are ultimately the right ones for New York's students," says Rosa.
Former Brentwood Schools Superintendent Michael Cohen says the cancellation of Regents once scheduled to be administered through June 25 raises additional questions not addressed in the state's announcement.
"How is this going to affect scholarships for students when they apply for scholarships? How is it going to affect admission to college? All these issues come to the forefront," says Cohen.
The Board of Regents also announced it will delay the rollout of the ELA and mathematics state assessments to spring 2022.
The Department of Education says student transcripts are not to reflect an exam score for an exam that the student was exempt from.
 


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