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Curriculum and Instruction

General Education and Diploma Requirements

Additional Resources

Appeals, Safety Nets, and Superintendent Determination

This page contains information regarding Appeals, Safety Nets, and Superintendent Determination.

Appeals

All New York State students are eligible to appeal a lower score on a Regents examination if they meet the following criteria:

  • have taken the Regents examination under appeal at least two times;
  • have at least one score on the Regents examination under appeal within the point range appropriate for the appeal:
All student appeal 60-64
English language learners seeking appeals in ELA only * 55-59
Students with disabilities eligible for the low-pass safety net 52-54
  • have taken advantage of academic help provided by the school in the subject tested by the Regents examination under appeal;
  • have passed the course for which the appeal is being sought; and
  • have been recommended for an exemption to the graduation requirement by the student’s teacher or Department chairperson in the subject of the Regents examination under appeal.

* Note:  In order to be eligible for the Local Diploma via Appeal for English Language Learners, the student must have entered the United States in high school (grade 9 or after) and must still be identified as an English Language Learner during the 2nd attempt at passing the English Regents exam.

Appeal resources include:

Safety Nets

Students with disabilities have three safety net options available to support 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:
Required Regents Exam or Pathway Score
English Language Arts  60
Algebra I 55
Living Environment 70
US History 46
CDOS Commencement Credential earned

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:

Superintendent Determination

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:

For further questions and comments, email:  emscurric@nysed.gov (general questions) or emscgradreq@nysed.gov (questions related to graduation requirements) or call (518) 474-5922.