NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — New information released by the New York State Education Department explains how the cancellation of June’s Regents exams impacts students.
If you were scheduled to take at least one Regents exam in June, you won't have to pass it in order to get your diploma at the end of the school year. To qualify for this exemption, you have to meet one of four requirements.
If you planned on taking the exam in June and have earned credit by the end of this school year, you won’t have to take the exam to get a diploma. If you're in 7th grade and are enrolled in classes that require you to take a Regents exam and have met the standards assessed in the provided coursework, you won’t have to take an exam.
If you fail to earn credit by the end of the school year, you'll have to go to summer school to make-up it up. If you then earn the needed course credit, you'll be granted diploma credit this August.
Finally, if you got course credit, but haven't passed the exam yet, and planned on taking it in June to pass you're exempt.
Niagara Falls Superintendent Mark Laurie says that this highlights why staying up to date on your school work from home is so important.
"If you are in an algebra course in any grade, senior right down through eighth grade where we give Regents exams, and you are passing the course now, and complete the work going forward, whether we return to school or not, and you have a passing grade at the end of the year, you will receive Regents credit. So, it's a pretty simplistic guidance. Hopefully, you've done your work to this point, and make sure you do your work going forward, and you will pass the exam if you're in a course," says Laurie.
Laurie adds that the key is making sure you have a passing grade.
“With about ten weeks, or just a little under ten weeks to go, you still can buckle down while you're off, do your online or packet learning, turn that work in, in whatever way your school district is set-up, and ask your teacher to be allowed to go back and complete work satisfactorily from the past. I guess the other caveat was, you've got to do satisfactory work. You can't just turn in anything. You've got to do proficient work. It's not just, hey, I turn something in and that's got to be good enough. It has to be satisfactory work," says Laurie.
NYSED has also put together an FAQ list to help explain how these new policies are working.