NEW YORK — The January 2022 administration of the High School Regents Examination Program has been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as announced by Commissioner Betty A. Rosa in December. This cancellation applies to all Regents Examinations that had been scheduled for the January 2022 Regents Examination period. No decisions have been made regarding the June and August 2022 administrations of Regents Examinations or any other State assessment programs.
“Given the unpredictable nature of the pandemic, the recent acceleration in COVID-19 infections, and continuing upheaval the virus had caused in schools across the state, this decision is the right one,” said Board of Regents Chancellor, Lester W. Young, Jr.
“Once again the January Regents cannot be safely, equitably, and fairly administered across the state,” added Commissioner Rosa. “We will continue to work with our schools, districts, and stakeholders, to ensure they have what they need to provide academic, social and emotional, and mental health supports for our students.”
As a result of the cancellation of the January 2022 Regents Examinations, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) will ask the Board of Regents to approve modifications to the assessment requirements that students must meet to earn high school diplomas, credentials, and endorsements. These modifications apply to all students who are completing a secondary-level course of study or make-up program in January and are scheduled to participate in one or more of the January 2022 Regents Examinations.
And, to ensure students are not adversely impacted by the cancellation of the exams, NYSED will also ask the Board of Regents to adopt emergency regulation regarding the assessment requirements students must ordinarily meet to earn a diploma. Under the proposed emergency regulations, students who are planning to take one or more Regents Examinations during the January 2022 examination period at the conclusion of a course of study or make-up program shall be exempt from the requirements pertaining to passing a corresponding Regents Examination to be issued a diploma. To qualify for the exemption, the student must meet one of these following requirements by the end of the first semester of the 2021-2022 school year: be enrolled in a course that would ordinarily culminate with a January 2022 Regents Exam and earn credit for such course of study; complete a make-up program to earn course credit; or be prepared to take a required Regents Exam to graduate at the end of the first semester.
NYSED is developing additional guidance in the form of an FAQ and will issue that guidance this month to address topics such as safety net options, mastery, honors, and technical endorsements so that schools may determine diplomas to grant to their graduates. Please visit NYSED’s COVID-19 information site (www.nysed.gov/coronavirus) for additional information and guidance as it becomes available.
As it pertains to Saratoga Springs High School students, the high school will run a regular class schedule for the week of Jan. 25-28, and students will be expected to be in school every day. Midterm and/or final exams may still be administered within the blocks on those days. Quarter 2 and 1st Semester will still conclude on Jan. 28, and the new semester will begin on Monday, Jan. 31. Please visit your respective school district’s website for their updated schedule following the cancellation of the Regents Exams.
