NY State Adopts Changes to Diploma Requirements

We have been following how the New York State Board of Regents, the body that oversees public education throughout the state, has been making changes to the graduation requirements for New York students with disabilities.

Most recently, we wrote about changes the Regents adopted in 2016 to create a path to a diploma - called a "local diploma" - for students with disabilities who were unable to pass sufficient Regents exams to obtain a Regents Diploma, the "gold standard" academic diploma for New York students.

At that time, we noted that all changes to the strict Regents diploma requirements were

"... part of a delicate balancing act. Parents and educators want to make sure that all students -- including those with disabilities -- are offered a rigorous curriculum to prepare them for adulthood. On the other hand, both parents and schools recognize that because of their disabilities, some of these students will not be able to meet the highest bar set by certain state exams and risk being left without a high school diploma despite their best efforts to achieve this crucial credential."

Earlier this week, the Regents implemented another change, this one made without the usual notice to the public. It permits students who are unable to pass the English and math Regents (even at the lower passing rate for students with disabilities of 55 percent) to obtain a local diploma if their district certifies that they are prepared for entry-level employment and "showed proficiency" for those subjects in which they did not pass the Regents exam. 

Why is this so important to some families of students with disabilities? The credential which would otherwise have been available to these students who were unable to pass the Regents exams is the Career Development and Occupational Studies Commencement Credential (CDOS). A local diploma is acceptable for college, military service, and employers; the CDOS is not. This change will increase the graduation rates for New York students and for some it will mean that they are eligible for jobs, military enlistment, or even college where they would not have been before this latest rule change. The long term impact of arguably lowering academic standards will be harder to quantify, but for the relieved parents reportedly attending the most recent Regents meeting, these longer term issues are not paramount. 

 

New NY Diploma Requirements for Students with IEPs

Earlier this year, we wrote about changes to diploma options for New York State students that affected students with IEPs who could not pass required Regents exams, the "gold standard" exams that were required for graduation with a "Regents Diploma."

Now, additional changes have been put in place by the New York State Board of Regents, the body that sets the standards for all schools statewide, that take effect on June 20th of this year, so that they will apply to students due to graduate with the Class of 2016. 

Essentially, students with IEPs who have not been able to pass Regents exams otherwise required for graduation can still graduate with a "local diploma," which is sufficient for college admissions, employers, and the military, if their school superintendent (or the principal of their "approved" private school) has determined that the student has met the learning standards for the course. These standards include the final course grade as well as grades on homework, projects, class work, quizzes and tests, as well as "actively participating" in (although not necessarily passing) the exam required for graduation. 

Students will still be required to pass English Language Arts (ELA) and Math Regents, since these two subjects are deemed foundational skills. But they will not be required to pass other Regents exams and, instead, can be judged competent in these subjects by a superintendent's review as outlined above. 

The Board of Regents notes that these newly announced changes are intended to be in addition to other “safety net” options currently available to students with disabilities to graduate with a local diploma. These are:

• Pass five required Regents exams with a score of 55 – 64
• Receive a local diploma via appeal if all of the conditions of appeal are met.  This option is for students who score up to three points below a score of 55 on a Regents exam 
• Score between 45-54 on one or more of the Regents exams required for graduation, other than ELA or mathematics, but achieve a score of 65 or higher on another required Regents exam which can compensate for the lower score. A score of 65 or higher on a single examination may not be used to compensate for more than one examination for which a score of 45-54 is earned.

All of these alternative paths to graduation are part of a delicate balancing act. Parents and educators want to make sure that all students -- including those with disabilities -- are offered a rigorous curriculum to prepare them for adulthood.  On the other hand, both parents and schools recognize that because of their disabilities, some of these students will not be able to meet the highest bar set by certain state exams and risk being left without a high school diploma despite their best efforts to achieve this crucial credential. These newest changes by the Regents, together with their earlier modifications of graduation requirements, are an effort to strike the best balance for these students.

Graduation Options in New York

We continue to speak with parents of public high school students who are concerned and confused about the diploma options available in New York for their students, especially those with with learning and other challenges.

For many years, students in New York had the option to graduate with a high school diploma without taking Regents exams, the New York Statewide tests that were first administered in 1878.  At least until the era of Advanced Placement exams, Regents examinations were considered the "gold standard" for New York State students, but all students had another path to a diploma available to them if they could not pass a sufficient number or Regents exams. This was the "local diploma."

Local diplomas, which are actual graduation credentials and recognized by such by colleges, the military, and employers, were available for a number of years to students who could not achieve a passing score on sufficient Regents exams, but who could pass a less difficult Regents Competency Exam. However, as we wrote back in 2011, Regents Competency exams were being phased out and, at this point, are no longer available to most students. Local diplomas are no longer an option for students in public schools who do not have an IEP or 504 Plan and cannot pass the required Regents exams. 

So, what can students with or without IEPs do if they are struggling to pass Regents exams?

• There is an appeal option, available to all students who score 62 or higher on their Regents exam. As explained in an excellent fact sheet from Advocates for Children of New York: "Students who successfully appeal one Regents Exam and meet all other testing and course requirements will be awarded a Regents Diploma. Students who successfully appeal two Regents Exams will be awarded a Local Diploma. Students cannot appeal more than two exams." Note that a student will still have to have an IEP or 504 Plan to be eligible for a Local Diploma (and students with Section 504 plans must have plans that specify that they are eligible for the Local Diploma).
• Students with IEPs or 504 plans who score between 55-64 on required Regents examinations can receive a local diploma. This option is not available to general education students. The rules are complicated and we suggest you review the advisory from the New York State Department of Education on this "safety net" option. Note that there are also special graduation options available to English Language Learners.

For students with disabilities who had an IEP, there had been another option, but its name was misleading to all concerned. Called an "IEP diploma" it was not a true graduation credential and not an actual diploma. Instead, all it signified was that the student had met the goals of his or her IEP. It was not accepted by colleges, the military, or many employers who required a high school diploma. This option has been replaced by two others, the  Skills and Achievement Commencement Credential (SACC) and the Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS) Commencement Credential. The SACC is for students with significant disabilities who take alternative assessments. The CDOS is designed to indicate readiness for work, and can be awarded on its own or in conjunction with a Regents or local diploma.

As you can see from the information and links above, this is a complicated subject. The best resource for all families is the high school counselor, among whose responsibilities is making sure that all students are on track to graduate with the highest level credential they are able to achieve. If you are not fully comfortable with where your student is in the path to graduation and what kind of diploma they are entitled to receive -- and are going to receive -- you need to meet with your student's guidance counselor without delay.

The Changing Nature of High School

A number of recent articles on how high school education is changing seem to all respond to the same set of observations: too many students graduate from high school unprepared for college or the workplace, and the current national economy is less than hospitable to these high school graduates.

Several innovations -- both locally and nationally -- are attempting to address this situation. Here in New York, a new diploma credential, designed for regular and special education students who will be graduating with a Regents (academic) or local diploma,  is the Career and Technical Education Endorsement. As described by the New York State Department of Education, this credential requires coursework that combines career and technical education, as well as academic components, and may be jointly developed and taught by an academic subject teacher and/or a career and technical education teacher. It also requires that the student satisfactorily complete a "technical assessment." This assessment can be developed by a particular industry (such as the exam necessary for a student to obtain certification as an Emergency Medical Technician) or, if no specific assessment is available, can be developed by the school district in conjunction with local businesses or professional organizations. Such an assessment should include: written examination(s), student project(s) and student demonstration(s) of technical skills to measure proficiency.

Another approach to integrating high school academics and career readiness is happening in several communities on Long Island, where school  districts are setting up technical and career programs in individual schools, rather than send their students out to a regional program at a BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services, which serves a number of regional school districts) campus. There are both budgetary and practical reasons for this trend. As noted in Newsday, reduced State funding to BOCES has increased districts' costs of participation and some districts find it cheaper to keep their students in their own building. In addition, integrating technical and career training with academics is easier when all courses take place in the same building.

On a national level, there is a program known as P-Tech - Pathways in Technology Early College High School, originally developed by IBM to provide a strong education in STEM skills (science, technology, engineering, and math) to students in inner city schools. These students graduate from high school in six years, instead of four, and emerge with both a high school diploma and a two year associate's degree, as well as the promise of a good-paying job. There is an excellent description of these programs and the positive impact they are having on their students (called "innovators" at some schools) in Time magazine, which is also available in a printer-friendly version.

Specific Learning Disabilities in College

As we have written before, students who have graduated high school are no longer covered by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which comes to an end either upon graduation or when students who will not be graduating with a standard diploma "age out" of their eligibility for public education under their state's laws (usually age 21). Instead, students in college are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The protections afforded by the ADA are broad, but there is one particular area where it differs from the IDEA that can make college entrance and college completion a problem for students who have specific areas of learning challenge.

The IDEA permits modifications to curriculum. So, for example, a student with a language disability may not be required to take a foreign language in high school, or a student with a disability of mathematics may not be required to take the same math courses as their classmates; the curriculum for each of these students can be modified in their area of specific learning disability. Note that these students may not be eligible for certain academic diplomas if their curriculum is significantly different than that of their classmates, but they are usually still eligible for a "local" diploma, one that is accepted by colleges, employers, and the military.

The ADA does not require colleges to make any modifications to curriculum. It requires accessibility, in both a physical and academic sense, but a student must be "otherwise qualified" for admission and graduation. What that means is that colleges can set standards for qualifications for students they admit, and they need not admit students who are lacking certain courses (staying with our example, this could be students who are lacking advanced math or foreign language courses), and even if such students are admitted, they may not be permitted to graduate without taking required courses or obtaining a waiver of such requirements from a college committee charged with granting such waivers.

This issue is of particular concern to some students in community colleges. These colleges are generally "open enrollment" in that they accept all high school graduates from their community. Because they do not rely on the stricter standards of selective colleges, they need a way to make sure students are prepared for college work. For students who have taken SAT or ACT exams, good scores in these exams are a way to demonstrate such preparation. Students who cannot submit strong scores on standardized tests, often because their learning disabilities impact their performance, must take placement tests to demonstrate their proficiency in areas such as reading, writing, and math. Those who cannot pass these tests are required to take remedial coursework and to pass such remedial courses in order to fully matriculate. Then, like all college students, they must also take the courses required for their major in order to graduate. Furthermore, students have to pay for remedial coursework just like they pay for regular courses, but do not receive credits towards their diplomas for these. And, often, they are limited in how many times they can take a particular course -- a "three strikes and you're out" approach.

The issue requires a balancing between the legal right of a college to set standards for admission and graduation and the rights of students with specific learning or other disabilities to be able to access a college education. There is no easy answer and it raises some fundamental questions that we expect courts to deal with at some point in the future.

High School Diplomas

As graduations loom, the issue of high school diplomas has come up in several forums. Our colleagues at Wrightslaw have dedicated their latest newsletter to reminding families to be mindful of the kind of diploma their child is on track to receive. They discuss the importance of obtaining a regular high school diploma if a student will want to attend any level of college. They also include a link to a terrific review of national policy and practice on this issue which appeared in a recent issue of the National PTA Magazine.

Meanwhile, here in New York, the New York State Board of Regents, which sets the rules state-wide for education policy, has just issued new rules clarifying diploma options for students at all ability levels.

As far back as we can remember, New York has offered an academic high school diploma, the Regents diploma, which signified that a student graduating high school met particular standards in a specific roster of courses. Students who did not pass the required number of Regents examinations (and passing the exam was a required part of passing the Regents course itself) could still graduate with a local diploma, but would not be eligible for Regents scholarships, which could offset some of the tuition in colleges located within the State and which signified that the student met a high standard of academic performance.

For the past number of years, in a laudable effort to raise the academic standards of high school students throughout the State, a push has been on to require ALL high school graduates from New York State public schools to receive a Regents diploma in order to graduate. The problem is that such a "one size fits all" standard doesn't recognize the realities of the State's diverse student population. For high achieving students, the Regents curriculum and accompanying exams are secondary challenges to the Advanced Placement coursework and exams. These high achieving students can earn a Regents Diploma with Advanced Standing or Honors. For students with very profound cognitive or other disabilities, an IEP "diploma" -- in reality a certificate of completion of the goals set out on the student's IEP -- may be a reasonable goal. But for a number of students with mild to moderate learning challenges that make Regents level courses and exams a real barrier, needing to pass these exams has been a significant hurdle.

New York has responded by postponing the implementation of an across-the-board Regents exam requirement, and permitting Regents Competency Tests (RCTs) for students with disabilities who could not pass the regular Regents exams. Now, the New York State Board of Regents has just announced that "the option to take the RCTs will not be available for any student entering grade 9 beginning in September 2011 and thereafter." After this cut off date, students with disabilities who pass Regents exams with a grade of 55-64 can receive a local diploma and all students will have the option to appeal their Regents scores and re-take Regents exams, with some limits.

Families and students in all states need to start planning early to consider what kind of diploma a student will seek to obtain, and what the options are if some of the courses or exams required for such a diploma are problematic for such students. Since an IEP "diploma" can limit post high school options, like admission to colleges and some tuition loans, students need to work towards the highest level diploma that they are capable of reaching.