REGENTS OR ADVANCED REGENTS DIPLOMA: As of June 2016, the Regents diploma is awarded to New York State high school students who:  Earn 22 credits in different courses; AND receive a passing score of 65 or higher on 4 Regents exams, plus a passing score on one other State-approved exam.

 The 4 required Regents exams are: 

• English Language Arts

• one Math

• one History (U.S. History OR Global History);

• and one Science. 

For their fifth exam, students may choose to use:

• an Advanced Placement (AP) or SAT II score,

•  a State-approved Career and Technical Education (CTE) exam, 

• an additional Regents exam, or the Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS) Commencement Credential. 

Note: If a student scores below a 65 on one or two Regents exams, they may be able to appeal the exam(s) and still graduate. Please see, http://www.nysed.gov/curriculum-instruction/appeals-safety-nets-and-superintendent-determination.

LOCAL DIPLOMA: Students who do not meet all the qualifications for a Regents diploma, but who meet other criteria, are eligible for a local diploma. These criteria include different cutoff scores for Regents exams and different options for students with disabilities. Students who graduate with a local diploma are eligible for college admission or to enter the military. Students can earn a local diploma with a maximum of TWO appealed scores (additional options are available for students with disabilities, including Safety Nets and Superintendent Determination).

What is a Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS) Commencement Credential? 

The Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS) Commencement Credential is a certificate that is intended to indicate a student’s readiness for entry-level jobs. The CDOS Commencement Credential is available to students who are not assessed using the New York State Alternate Assessment. A student who receives a CDOS Commencement Credential can also earn a Regents or local diploma or can complete high school with a CDOS Commencement Credential only. Students who are pursuing a Regents or local diploma may substitute a CDOS Commencement Credential for one of the five exams required to graduate. 

Students can earn the CDOS Commencement Credential in one of two ways:

1. The student must complete all of the following:  Complete and annually review a career plan that documents career interests, strengths and weaknesses, career goals, and coursework or learning experiences to help the student achieve those goals;  Complete four 54-hour units (216 hours total) of work-based learning, CTE courses, or other career planning activities, including at least 54 hours of supervised work based learning, such as:  Internships, job shadowing, or service learning;  Courses that are part of an approved CTE sequence  Advisory focused on career planning;  Have an employability profile completed by his or her school that shows that the student has mastered the CDOS standards; OR 

2. The student must earn one of several nationally recognized work readiness credentials. Examples of these nationally recognized credentials include: 

   1. SkillsUSA Workforce Ready Employability Assessment: www.workforcereadysystem.org/assessments.shtml 

   2. National Work Readiness Credential (NWRC): www.workreadiness.com/ 

   3. ACT National Career Readiness Certificate: www.act.org/products/workforce-actnational-career-readiness-certificate/ 

   4. CASAS Workforce Skills and Certification System: www.casas.org/productoverviews/assessments/WSCS 

      
      

What is an IEP Diploma? 

IEP diplomas were certificates that were given to students with disabilities who were unable to meet diploma requirements. An IEP diploma was supposed to indicate that a student had met all of their IEP goals. IEP diplomas were discontinued on July 1, 2013, and have been replaced by two new options, the Skills and Achievement Commencement Credential (SACC) for students who are on an alternate assessment track, and a Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS) for students who may also continue to work towards a Regents or local diploma.

What is the Skills and Achievement Commencement Credential (SACC)? 

Beginning July 1, 2013, this credential was made available to students with severe disabilities who, because of their disability, cannot take regular State assessments and instead take the New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA). The student must have attended school for at least 12 years, excluding kindergarten; received a substantially equivalent education elsewhere, or reached the end of the school year in which they turned 21. The credential is intended to demonstrate the student’s readiness for entry-level work. It is awarded along with a Student Exit Summary, which documents the student’s academic achievement and functional performance. It is important to note that the Skills and Achievement Commencement Credential is NOT equivalent to a regular high school diploma. For more information about the Skills and Achievement Credential, see http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ specialed/publications/SACCmemo.htm.

Students with disabilities have three safety net options available to support the acquisition of the local diploma.  Safety net options include:

• Low Pass Safety Net

  • Under this safety net, a score of 55-64 constitutes a passing score on a required Regents exam.

• Low Pass Safety Net with Appeal

  • Under this option, students with disabilities may appeal up to two Regents exam scores of 52-54.

• Compensatory Safety Net

  • This option enables students to compensate a Regents exam score of 65 or above for a Regents exam score between 45 and 54.  Each high score may compensate for a low score.  This option only applies to lower scores on Regents exams in social studies and science.  Students must earn at least a 55 (or be granted an appeal in the range of 52-54) on their English language arts and mathematics Regents exams.

  • Example:

Rationale:  This student can use the compensatory safety net option.  The student earned scores of 55 or above on both English Language Arts and Algebra I (mathematics) Regents exams. The student’s score of 70 in Living Environment compensates for the lower score of 46 in US History.

Safety Net Resources Include:

• Table:  Safety Net Options Available to Students with Disabilities to Graduate with a Local Diploma, updated October 2019

• Questions and Answers – Compensatory Option Safety Net, updated January 2017

• Special Education Field Advisory:  Safety Net for Students with Disabilities (Compensatory Option), November 2012

Students with a disability who are unable to attain a local diploma through the various safety net provisions may be eligible for a Superintendent Determination of a local diploma.

Superintendent Determination resources include:

• Superintendent Determination Option for Graduation with a Local Diploma, updated August 2018

• Superintendent Determination Option for Graduation with a Local Diploma:  Questions and Answers, updated August 2018

• Form (to be returned to NYSED):  Superintendent Determination for Graduation with a Local Diploma, updated January 2018

• Sample Form: Parent Request for Superintendent Determination for Graduation with a Local Diploma

For further questions and comments

• Email:  emscurric@nysed.gov (general questions) or

• Email: emscgradreq@nysed.gov  (questions related to graduation requirements)

• Call (518) 474-5922