This petition's purpose is to end the NYS Regents exams being mandatory for graduation for both the class of 2026 and 2027 and at the least the optionality for it and at best the elimination of it for each and every class following 2026.

     "Beginning in the 2027-28 school year, students will no longer be required to pass Regent's exams to graduate high school. Due to federal rules, students will continue taking Regent's exams in Math, English, and science, but they will not be required to earn passing scores to get a diploma". 

                                                                                        -Chalkbeat 

    The 2027 - 2028 school year would start in September 2027 and would continue the regents as mandatory without the requirement of graduation. While the classes of both 2026 and 2027 would be the last to require for graduation. New York is one of the last few states to have this practice and is moving away from this practice slowly, yet why does the class of 2026 and 2027 have to get the last of it? It seems unfair and rather rude. Then you continue it in the years afterwards with meaningless exams that at that point will cause more harm than good to not only the child but NYS school system. It seems like a waste of resources and money that could be going into other practices. Standardized testing to this degree has become a thing of the past. The mixtures of not only trying to pass the class but also personal life and issues, with at best an average of 2 statewide regents per year would affect test scores and overall class scores. Why mark one singular test on one singular date instead of an entire year of education? Why not make just that year count towards graduation? Lastly, it doesn't help how every district, region, and every school does a practice different than the other. It often leaves students confused when facing the regents. Resulting in low test scores and failures for even some of the best students making not only the schools but the education system look flawed.

    All I ask of this is at least 100,000 signatures, 100,000 signatures of support so I can take this up to Albany and make this great change to our school system for not only us but our children and their children!