New York plan ends Regents passing requirement for diplomas

What the board approved

The New York State Board of Regents has approved a plan to begin changing the state’s high school graduation requirements. Under the plan, students would no longer need to pass Regents Exams to receive a diploma.

The decision changes the role that Regents Exams play in determining whether a student can graduate. Passing those state exams would no longer be a required step toward earning a diploma under the revised system.

The board’s approval begins an overhaul of graduation requirements rather than simply changing the outcome of one exam. The central change is that a student’s eligibility for a diploma would not depend on passing Regents Exams.

What it means for students

Students have had to meet state graduation requirements that include passing Regents Exams. The approved plan would remove that testing condition, allowing students to earn diplomas without a passing Regents result.

The plan concerns the requirement to pass the exams. It does not, by itself, mean that Regents Exams are being eliminated. The direct effect is on how exam results are used when the state decides whether a student has qualified for a high school diploma.

What comes next

The Board of Regents’ action starts the process of revising New York’s graduation system. The next steps will determine how the broader overhaul is carried out and what requirements students must meet in place of the Regents passing condition.

Those details will shape how schools apply the new diploma standards and how students demonstrate that they have completed the state’s graduation requirements.