High School Graduation Options for Students with Disabilities 

If you are a student with a disability, you may graduate from high school with a Regents, Advanced Regents or Local diploma. If you do not meet the requirements for one of these diplomas, you may exit high school with a Skills and Achievement Commencement Credential (SACC) or a Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS) Commencement Credential. The SACC and the CDOS are not diplomas and do not have the same benefits as a diploma.

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Summary of Changes to Graduation Requirements due to COVID-19

In general, students in New York need to earn 22 credits (44 credits in NYC) and pass 4+1 exams to graduate from high school. However, due to COVID-19, June & August 2020 and January 2021 Regents exams were cancelled. New York State also changed graduation requirements for students who were planning to take the exams that were cancelled. The New York State Education Department (NYSED) released this guidance and this FAQ about how cancelled June & August 2020 Regents exams will affect graduation requirements. NYSED released this guidance and FAQ about the January 2021 Regents exam cancellations. 

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Requesting an Impartial Hearing for Extended School Eligibility for Students with Disabilities

Students in New York have the right to stay in school until the end of the school year in which they turn 21, or until they earn a high school diploma. If your child is 21 or will turn 21 in June 2020, they will lose their right to be in school on June 26, 2020. If your child turns 21 in July or August 2020, they will lose their right to stay in school after August 31, 2020. This is sometimes called “aging out.” If your child meets graduation requirements this year and receives a diploma, they are not eligible to return to high school next year. However, if your child is aging out this summer or is scheduled to graduate and, because of COVID19, has not gotten the special education supports they need to meet graduation requirements or their transition goals, you can request an impartial hearing to ask the Department of Education (DOE) to give your child more time in high school. This is sometimes called “extended eligibility.”

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