THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234 _______________________________________________________________________________________
	James A. Kadamus, Deputy Commissioner Office for Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education Room 875 EBA Albany, New York  12234 Phone:  (518) 474-5915 Fax:  (518-486-2233

Inclement Weather During the January Examination Period

Please refer to the School Administrator’s Manual, which can be accessed at https://www.p12.nysed.gov/osa/sam/secondary/, for information on the State Education Department’s policy on this issue. Relevant sections are listed below:

• Examinations Not Administered Due to Inclement Weather
  
  
• Awarding of Credit for Courses of Study
  
  
• From the Directions for Administering and Scoring Regents Examinations, which can be accessed at https://www.p12.nysed.gov/osa/hsgen/, 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