New York state education officials this week adopted a new framework for high school graduation requirements.
The “Portrait of a Graduate” is expected to be fully in place starting the fall of 2029.
Specifics have yet to be worked out, but the framework moves away from standardized exams and toward more project-based and interdisciplinary learning.
It would add components like student-led projects, community service, and work-based experiences to coursework and assessments.
Some of the key areas listed for student learning are critical thinking, cultural responsiveness, and global awareness.
State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa said this week at a Board of Regents meeting that the model for public schools is meant for all students, including English language learners and students with disabilities.
“You have to think about it in a holistic kind of way," Rosa said. "Because if we go back to remediation, or we go back to special ed, to silos, then we've defeated the purpose of saying that this is about all students and building ... multiple pathways of demonstrating that knowledge.”
Regent Wade Norwood said the different approach gives more opportunity for collaboration between communities and schools.
“I think at the local level ... we can discover ways that community-based experiential learning can be interwoven with academic and school-based extracurricular activities to make real our love for our students by gifting them with roots and with wings,” Norwood said.
The Board of Regents, which is the state Education Department’s governing body, voted on Monday to adopt the policy.
Response to the move is mixed. Advocates with EdTrust-NY said in a statement that they remain “deeply concerned” over possible consequences of eliminating Regents exams.
“The proposal to remove Regents exams as a graduation requirement raises serious concerns about how the state will ensure students are truly ready for college, career, and life,” the advocacy group said in a statement. “This change could also widen existing disparities between districts that can afford to implement multiple measures of academic preparedness and those that cannot.”
Other changes to high school requirements include financial literacy and climate education instruction, starting in the 2026-27 school year.
Officials expect the new requirements to be fully implemented for students entering ninth grade in 2029.
