Register for the New York State Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures Virtual “Ambassador Forum” Targeting Manhattan Stakeholders

In a continuing effort to transform New York’s education system guided by stakeholder input and feedback, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) will conduct a series of Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) “Ambassador Forums” to provide an opportunity for the public to share their thoughts about NYSED’s proposed vision for implementing the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures. Five (5) forums will be conducted virtually via Zoom, each targeting stakeholders in one of the 5 boroughs but open to stakeholders from across NYC.

Bronx: Monday, September 30, 5:00 – 7:00pm
Brooklyn: Tuesday, October 1, 5:00 – 7:00pm
Manhattan: Monday, October 7, 5:00 – 7:00pm
Queens: Tuesday, October 8, 6:00 – 8:00pm
Staten Island: Wednesday, October 9, 6:00 – 8:00pm

Please complete this form to register. Zoom login information for this session will be provided via email to all registered attendees.

Background:

In 2019, the New York State Board of Regents created a Blue Ribbon Commission to examine and rethink New York’s graduation requirements. The main goal for the Blue Ribbon Commission was to develop recommendations to the Board of Regents on what measures of learning and achievement could better serve New York’s diverse student population as indicators of what they know and of their readiness for college, career, and civic life. Simply put, the task was to determine what students should know and be able to do upon graduation and how they should be able to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.

In November 2023, the Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) presented its recommendations for achieving these goals, then in June 2024, NYSED presented its vision to implement the BRC’s recommendations. In summary, NYSED’s vision calls for transformative actions in four areas:

Transformation #1: Adopt the New York State Portrait of a Graduate

The Portrait of a Graduate is intended to create a shared understanding of the skills and knowledge that New York State public school graduates have mastered.

Transformation #2: Redefine Credits

NYSED proposes to redefine credits to focus on proficiency rather than upon the completion of time-based units of study (as is the current practice for most students). The goal is to expand the ways in which students may demonstrate their mastery of the State’s rigorous learning standards and attainment of the various components of the Portrait of a Graduate.

Transformation #3: Sunset Diploma Assessment Requirements

NYSED recommends decoupling specific assessment requirements from graduation requirements. Doing so means that students will no longer need to pass the Regents exams or a +1 Pathway Assessment in order to graduate from high school. Regents Examinations will continue to be available as one of the measures by which students may demonstrate their proficiency in meeting the State’s learning standards. Students will continue to be assessed through multiple measures at the local level to demonstrate their learning. They will still take specific state-level assessments required by federal law to track progress across New York.
Transformation #4: Move to One Diploma
The Department recommends moving to a system with only one diploma available to all New York State public school graduates. Under the Department’s recommendations, districts would be required to confer diplomas to all students who satisfy the State’s requirements. This approach would eliminate the local diploma, the “