Navigating the Advanced Diploma: New York Regents Requirements

Earning an advanced diploma in New York State requires careful planning and fulfilling specific criteria. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the New York Regents requirements for an advanced diploma, including course credits, exam requirements, and available appeals processes. The advanced Regents diploma demonstrates a student's enhanced skills in mathematics, science, and languages other than English.

Core Requirements for an Advanced Regents Diploma

To earn an Advanced Regents diploma, students need to accumulate 44 credits across various subject areas. All students can earn a Regents or advanced Regents diploma. An advanced Regents diploma lets students show additional skills in math, science, and languages other than English.

Regents Exams: Measuring Student Achievement

Regents Exams serve as a standardized measure of student achievement in high school-level courses. These exams are administered three times a year: in January, June, and August. Students typically take these exams in grades 9-12, and in some cases, in grade 8. The content of each exam varies depending on the subject. The Regents exams are scored by licensed and trained New York City teachers. No student’s exam is scored by a teacher from the student’s school.

To graduate, all students in New York State must earn 44 credits and pass five Regents exams with a score of at least 65. These exams cover the following core subjects:

English Language Arts
Mathematics
Science
Social Studies
An additional Regents Exam or another option approved by the State

Appeals Process for Regents Exams

Recognizing that some students may face challenges in demonstrating their knowledge through standardized testing, New York State provides an appeals process. Students who score between 60-64 on up to two of the required Regents exams may appeal to graduate.

Read also: Enrollment at Notre Dame

Traditional Appeal:

Eligible students may appeal to graduate with a lower score on a Regents Exam. Any student who meets the following eligibility conditions may appeal to earn a diploma with a lower score on a Regents Exam. Note: This will be a limited rule in effect for exams taken during these specific administration periods only (June/August 2022, January/June/August 2023). Special appeals may be applied towards any diploma type (local, Regents, and Regents with Advanced Designation).

Superintendent Determination Option (for Students with Disabilities):

This option is available to students with disabilities with a current individualized education program (IEP) only. The superintendent may only consider an eligible student for a local diploma through the superintendent determination option upon receipt of a written request from the student’s parent or guardian. Such request must be submitted in writing to the student’s school principal or chairperson of the district’s committee on special education (CSE). Schools and districts may utilize the sample form, Parent Request for Superintendent Determination Option for Graduation with a Local Diploma.

Upon receipt of a written request from an eligible student’s parent or guardian, the superintendent must, in consultation with the school principal, review, document and provide a written certification/assurance that there is evidence that the student has otherwise met the standards for graduation with a local high school diploma. passed the course(s) culminating in the examination(s) required for graduation, in accordance with the grading policies of the district. The student and the parent of the student must receive written notice of the superintendent’s determination with the copy of the completed superintendent’s determination form and, where the superintendent determines that the student has met the requirements for graduation, the district must provide prior written notice that the student is not eligible to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) after graduation with a local diploma. A copy of the form must be placed in the student’s record.

Considerations for English Language Learners (ELLs)

English language learners (ELLs) enrolled in Bilingual Education and English as a New Language programs must meet specific program requirements. These include: 9-12 English as a New Language (ENL) Units of Study and Staffing Requirements and 9-12 Transitional Bilingual Education Program Requirements. All students designated as English language learners by the Department of Education must pass the English Language Arts Regents Exam to earn a Regents or Advanced Regents diploma.

Diplomas and Credentials for Students with Disabilities

Most students who receive special education services should be prepared to earn regular high school diplomas. A small minority of students may graduate with one of two credentials: the Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS) Commencement Credential; or the Skills and Achievement Commencement Credential (SACC). These credentials replace the "IEP Diploma," which is no longer offered. Students with disabilities can also be prepared for the high school equivalency assessment, called the Test Assessing Secondary Completion, or TASC. (This assessment replaced the GED in 2014).

At the CSE meeting in which transition services will be discussed, the student’s parents must be provided with written information explaining the graduation requirements. Such information must include the eligibility criteria and processes for seeking an appeal to graduate with a lower score on a Regents Exam and for requesting that a student be considered for a local diploma through the superintendent determination option.

Honors and Mastery Endorsements

The honors endorsement may be awarded to students who complete the requirements for either the Regents diploma or the Regents diploma with advanced designation. To earn the honors endorsement, a student must meet the assessment requirements for the Regents diploma or the Regents with advanced designation and also earn a computed average of 90 or above on the Regents Exams applicable to their diploma type (no rounding up is permitted).

The mastery endorsement may be awarded to students who complete the requirements for the Regents diploma with advanced designation. To earn mastery in mathematics and/or mastery in science, students must demonstrate mastery on the Regents Exams in mathematics and/or science.

Additional Diploma Options

While the Regents and Advanced Regents diplomas are the most common, some students may be eligible for other diploma options. All of these diplomas are valid high school diplomas. Some students also have the option to earn a third type of diploma called the local diploma. This option allows certain students to graduate with lower exam scores. Some students with severe disabilities can earn the Skills and Achievement credential instead of a diploma. This credential recognizes students’ achievements in academics, career development, and other foundational skills.

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