PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
RELATING TO A REGENTS CERTIFICATE OF WORK READINESS FOR STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES
PUBLIC COMMENT SUBMISSION COVER SHEET
MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN FEBRUARY 11, 2013
MAIL TO:
New York State Education Department
P-12: Office of Special Education
89 Washington Avenue, Room 309EB
Albany, New York 12234
Attention: Proposed Regulations – Regents Certificate of Work Readiness
FAX TO:
518-473-5387
EMAIL TO:
SPEDPUBLICCOMMENT@MAIL.NYSED.GOV
FROM:
NAME
Stephen Boese
TITLE
Executive Director
ORGANIZATION
Learning Disabilities Association of New York State
ADDRESS
1190 Troy Schenectady Road
CITY
Latham
(Please Print or
Type
Requested
Information)
Page 2 of 2
December 26, 2012 – February 11, 2013
PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
RELATING TO A REGENTS CERTIFICATE OF WORK READINESS FOR STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES
ZIP
12110
Topic: Regents Certificate of Work Readiness
The
proposed
amendment
Section(s) of Regulations
would:
● beginning July 1, 2013 and thereafter, authorize school districts and
nonpublic schools to award a Regents Certificate of Work Readiness to a
student with a disability to document his/her high school preparation for entry
level
employment;
and
§100.5(b)(7)(i)
New §100.6(b)
● establish minimum requirements for students with disabilities to earn a
Regents Certificate of Work Readiness, including requirements relating to career
planning, coursework and work-based learning experiences, and a work skills
employability profile.
Support
X Oppose
No Position
Reasons/Recommendations:
The Learning Disabilities Association of New York State is strongly opposed to this proposed regulation.
We therefore urge the NYS Education Department to suspend adoption of this regulation until there is
adequate research conducted to:
1. determine the value of a “students with disabilities-only” credential
2. assess the practical, real-life outcomes of a student exiting school with only a work readiness
credential and without a real high school diploma; and
3. until such time as alternative pathways to a real diploma are developed for all students that do not
rely on high stakes standardized tests.
When this proposed credential was originally presented by the Education Department, we were supportive of
a work readiness certificate. We understood that the proposed credential would be an additional, integrated,
embedded set of work readiness activities that would be available to all students and be designed to be a
complement to a fully developed curriculum with well-defined measurable career-readiness outcome-based
goals. We still think this is an important goal to achieve.
However, the Regents Certificate of Work readiness currently proposed is designed to be available only for
students with disabilities. The results will be stigmatizing, discriminatory and segregating for students with
Page 2 of 2
December 26, 2012 – February 11, 2013
PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
RELATING TO A REGENTS CERTIFICATE OF WORK READINESS FOR STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES
disabilities, and the credential’s value as an entry to postsecondary careers diminished. It also will put
those who earn this position in the untenable position of needing to disclose their disability to an employer
by virtue of their presenting this “disabilities-only” certificate.
We also question affixing the name “Regents” to this certificate. To most persons in the field, the term
“Regents” is associated with the standardized NYS high school exams required for a Regent’s Diploma.
Calling the work-readiness certificate a Regents Certificate will blur the distinction between this credential
and a diploma, much the way the word “diploma” blurred the distinction between the IEP Diploma and the
legitimate high school diplomas. The result will be more students tracked to a course of study without fully
understanding that the end result of their education is no diploma, much like the experience of many
students who left school with the IEP Diploma only to realize too late that they did not earn a recognized
high school diploma.
Many students with disabilities, especially those with learning disabilities, are capable of succeeding with
the high school curriculum. An IEP or a 504 plan are the well-demonstrated mechanisms that accommodate
for a student’s disability and empowers students with disabilities to learn in school in parity with their peers.
These program modifications and accommodations should in no way be interpreted that a student is not
capable of succeeding with the curriculum. Some of the most important accommodations that need to be
made for students with learning disabilities and related neurological impairments are assessment tools that
correctly and fairly assess their learning and level of mastery of the curriculum goals. Requiring
standardized high stakes tests as the only pathway for graduation, without providing access to alternative
assessments and accommodations appropriate to their disability, blocks these students from achieving a
the NYS high school diploma they deserve based on their skills and competencies.
If NYSED continues to move forward with this proposed disabilities-only credential, NYSED will be providing
an option for districts to channel a student who needs special supports and accommodations to nonacademic track that has unintended consequences. The results will be a certificate of completion of a
curriculum that is untested and of questionable value in the workplace. The impact on students who are
detoured to this non-diploma track will be life-long.
In summary, while well-intentioned, this credential is discriminatory, untested, it’s value is questionable and
there is no evidence or guarantee that this credential will provide any value for employability or value in or
outside of New York State. We therefore urge the Department to rededicate itself to developing pathways to
a REAL diploma NOT based on standardized high stakes tests. This goal is absolutely necessary so that the
thousands of students with and without disabilities will be able to graduate with a diploma that they deserve.
If we develop these rigorous alternative pathways, students will not become dropouts, or leave NYS public
education after 12-15 years without a diploma and suffer the resulting life-long societal, cultural and
economic disadvantages that have been well documented through educational research.
We encourage the department to address the diploma / credential issue in a cohesive and comprehensive
approach. Currently the approach sadly appears very fragmented, reactive, and disorganized. All
stakeholders need to be actively engaged and involved including students with and without disabilities, their
parents, teachers, advocates, transition specialists, employers and career and technology experts, and
school district administrators.
LDA welcomes the opportunity to continue to work with NYSED to develop a strategic, inclusive, and well
thought out achievable plan that will address the diploma issue for ALL STUDENTS!
Page 2 of 2
December 26, 2012 – February 11, 2013
PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
RELATING TO A REGENTS CERTIFICATE OF WORK READINESS FOR STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES
Page 2 of 2
December 26, 2012 – February 11, 2013
PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
RELATING TO A REGENTS CERTIFICATE OF WORK READINESS FOR STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES
Topic
Section(s) of Regulations
The proposed amendment would require that prior notice relating to the provision of
a free appropriate public education (FAPE) upon graduation notify parents that a
student awarded a Regents Certificate of Work Readiness continues to be eligible
for FAPE until the end of the school year in which the student turns age 21 or until
the receipt of a Regents or local high school diploma.
Support
Oppose
No Position
Reasons/Recommendations:
Page 2 of 2
December 26, 2012 – February 11, 2013
§200.5(a)(5)(iii)