FOR RELEASE: November 13, 2023
The state’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Requirements has undertaken an important process to evaluate the way our state determines whether students have met necessary requirements to graduate. In so doing, the commission has begun to explore the central question of what a New York high school diploma should signify.
School boards support a public education system that provides opportunities for all students, which is a major goal of the Commission’s work. Today’s recommendations establish key priorities for this important and ongoing work. Those priorities include simplifying diploma types, updating credit requirements and standards to address life skills and competencies – such as writing and financial literacy; civic responsibility and media literacy; as well as science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) – and strengthening our schools’ capacity to deliver Career and Technical Education, which school board members recognize as a critical component in preparing many of our students for life beyond high school.
The path forward will likely include some fine-tuning of the recommendations as we all work collectively to ensure that students in every region of the state possess the skills they need to be successful in today’s world. School board members look forward to continuing to participate in decisions about graduation requirements and the types of assessments that will be most appropriate to measure students’ mastery of learning standards.