State Allows Schools to Postpone Regents Exams Due to Blizzard

With a blizzard set to drop historic amount of snow in the middle of the New York State Regents Exams, officials are allowing flexibility for snowed-in schools.

“School districts will be given flexibility to administer all January 2015 Regents exams and Regents Competency Tests (RCTs) affected by the weather,” announced the State Education Department, citing an “unprecedented” winter storm.

Officials said, “This one-time change, made after consulting with our colleagues in the field, is intended to ensure the safety of all students and school employees while preserving the integrity of the State exams.”

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The “flexibility” provided to school districts will allow them to postpone exams within a reasonable amount of time and “as close as possible to the original administration window.”

Rather than having a separate testing window for each individual exam, officials instead will require all exams to be completed before the end of the school day on Friday.

Many districts have already announced exam cancellations as of Monday.

School districts who postpone exams will have to report the dates of their snow days, their make-up exam dates, and a comprehensive plan to ensure security of exams and scoring to state officials, according to NYSED.

Related:

• BLIZZARD WARNING: Crippling, Potentially Historic Storm Set to Strike Long Island
• Cuomo: LIRR, LIE May Shut Down Before Monday Evening Commute
• BLIZZARD 2015: What You Need to Know
• Hour-by-Hour Long Island Blizzard Forecast
• Long Island Red Cross Offers Storm-Related Safety Tips
• 5 of the Worst Blizzards in U.S. History