January 2004

Inclement Weather During the January Examination Period

 Please refer to the School Administrator’s Manual, which can be accessed at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/hsinfogen/sam2001.pdf for information on the State Education Department’s policy on this issue.    Relevant sections are excerpted below:

 Page 4

 Examinations Not Administered Due to Inclement Weather

During the January Regents examination period, superintendents should follow normal procedures in determining whether school should be closed due to inclement weather. Schools may not administer State examinations when weather conditions are severe enough to warrant closing school and canceling normal bus transportation.

If a school is closed and unable to administer State examinations in January due to inclement weather, the principal must notify the BOCES district superintendent of the date(s) of closing and any examination(s) that were canceled. (See the section, Awarding of Credit for Courses of Study, page 25.)

Page 25

 Awarding of Credit for Courses of Study

A course of study involves class attendance, homework assignments, quizzes, tests, and other activities. In many instances it also involves the taking of a State examination at the end of the course. When deciding whether a student who is enrolled in a course of study has satisfactorily completed it and is entitled to credit, the teacher should evaluate the student's performance on all these activities. In accordance with Commissioner's Regulation 100.5(a)(5)(iv), the granting of a passing mark in a course and, with it, the awarding of credit may not be based solely on the results of the State examination.

Any school that was closed during the January Regents examination period because of inclement weather will be informed by the Department as to whether canceled State examinations will be rescheduled. In addition, for those examinations not rescheduled, the Department will notify schools as to whether credit may be granted on the basis of a local examination or course grade. If the Department permits a school to grant credit on the basis of a local examination or course grade, no score may be recorded as a State examination score on the students' permanent records. Students who need an examination score will have to take in June the examination that was canceled in January. Only those schools that had to cancel State examinations in January because of inclement weather are eligible to use these alternative procedures for granting credit, subject to Department approval.

From the Directions for Administering and Scoring Regents Examinations, which can be accessed at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/hsinfogen/DET 541 January 2004.htm related to time requirements:   

The examination schedules and the examinations themselves indicate the specific hours during which Regents Examinations must be administered. January examinations are scheduled for 9:15 a.m. or for 1:15 p.m. To allow sufficient time for giving directions and distributing examination materials, instruct students to be in their seats at least 15 minutes before the time specified for starting each examination.

At the discretion of the principal, schools may begin Regents Examinations earlier than the specified time. Regardless of the starting time, do not permit any student under any circumstances to hand in his or her test materials and leave the examination room before the Uniform Statewide Admission Deadline, which in January is 10:00 a.m. for morning examinations and 2:00 p.m. for afternoon examinations.

The school must admit to an examination all students who arrive at the examination room before the Uniform Statewide Admission Deadline, even if the students arrive after the starting time scheduled by the school. Students who arrive at the examination after the Uniform Statewide Admission Deadline but who have been under the supervision of school personnel since the admission deadline should be admitted to the examination if the principal is reasonably certain that the students did not have an opportunity to exchange information with other students who had already left the examination.

Do not admit students who arrive after the deadline and who have not been under the supervision of school personnel since the deadline. The purpose of the Uniform Statewide Admission Deadline is to eliminate any possibility of the exchange of information between students at different examination centers. All school personnel must strictly comply with these regulations.

Latecomers for Regents Examinations are not generally entitled to have the closing time extended. However, if students started an examination late because of extenuating circumstances beyond their control, the principal may authorize an extension of the closing time of the Regents Examination for these students. Further, when a Regents Examination is administered under special conditions to a student who is injured or ill or who has a disability, the principal has the discretion to extend the time in order to allow the student reasonable time to complete the Regents Examination under the special examination conditions. Please refer to the School Administrator’s Manual for more specific information about such situations. A full report concerning each authorization should be sent to the Department at the end of the Regents Examination period.

We will continue to monitor information from across the State and will provide any updates as needed.  If you have any questions, you may send them to emscassessinfo@mail.nysed.gov.

Additional Information on Regents Comprehensive Examination in English