Students Who Pass Regents Class Won't Need the Exam to Graduate

Adjustments have been made to the traditional Regents Exam and Pathway Assessment requirements for graduation in response to school cancelations.

By Melissa Wickes April 20, 2020

In response to the statewide closures of schools to stop the spread of COVID-19, the New York State Department of Education canceled the June high school regents exams. But what does this mean for students who needed to pass that regents exam to graduate? Will the cancelation of these exams put your child at a disadvantage? Luckily, the NYSED is making adjustments to the Regents Exam and Pathway Assessment requirements that students traditionally had to meet to earn their diplomas, to credentials, and to endorsements so your child won’t be adversely impacted by these exam cancelations.

Regents Exam Exemptions

Students in grade 7-12 who were supposed to take a regents exam will be exempt from needing to pass the exam to graduate if they are currently enrolled in the Regents course and pass the course by the end of the 2020 school year. That said, if the student is currently enrolled in a course that culminates in a Regents exam and fails to earn credit by the end of the school year (the student fails the class), that student will have to return for summer school to make up the failed course credit and will be granted the diploma in August of 2020.

Pathway Assessment Exemptions

Students in courses preparing to take a NYSED-approved +1 Pathway Assessment in June will also be exempt from needing to pass the exam to obtain a diploma if the student passes the course by the end of the 2020 school year. This applies to students who previously passed a course culminating in a +1 Pathway Assessment and had planned on taking the exam this June.

Any student who is identified as an English Language Learner whose home language is one of the languages tested by the NYSED-approved Languages Other Than English +1 Pathway Assessments (Chinese, French, Italian, Korean, or Spanish) and was intending to take the LOTE +1 Assessment in June is exempt from achieving a passing score to graduate. A student who was deemed qualified by the principal in the use of American Sign Language is also exempt from the requirement.

The NYSED has yet to make a decision about the August administration of the Regents Examination. We will keep you updated as more information about this exam becomes available and should any other information regarding NYS Regents Exams and exemptions become available. For more information regarding your child's exam exemption eligibility, please visit the NYSED's website.