THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:	The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents
FROM:	Johanna Duncan-Poitier and James A. Kadamus
COMMITTEE:	Joint Meeting of the Higher Education and Professional Practice Committee and the EMSC-VESID Committee
TITLE OF ITEM:	Proposed Amendment to the Rules of the Board of Regents and the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Requirements for the Conferral of a College Degree and the Home Instruction of Students of Compulsory Attendance Age and College Study
DATE OF SUBMISSION:	March 1, 2004
PROPOSED HANDLING:	Discussion
RATIONALE FOR ITEM:	To Implement Policy
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goal 1
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY:

 

Attached for discussion is a proposed amendment to section 3.47 of the Rules of the Board of Regents and section 100.10 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, relating to requirements for the conferral of a college degree and the home instruction of students of compulsory attendance age and college study.  Supporting materials are available upon request from the Secretary to the Board of Regents.

 

The purpose of the proposed amendment is to establish alternatives to the requirement that a candidate for a college degree hold a high school diploma, repeal the requirement that a student must have completed at least a four-year high school course or its equivalent before beginning degree study, require students subject to compulsory education to obtain the approval of an appropriate school administrator prior to enrolling in college credit course work offered when the public school is in session, and establish requirements relating to the home instruction of students and college study.  A Notice of Proposed Rule Making concerning the proposed amendment will be published in the State Register on March 3, 2004.  It is recommended that formal action on the proposed amendment be taken at the May 2004 meeting of the Board of Regents.

 

Attachment

AMENDMENT TO THE RULES OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS AND REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION

            Pursuant to sections 207, 210, 218, 224, 3204, 3205, 3210, 3212, and 3234 of the Education Law. 

1.  Subdivisions (a) and (b) of section 3.47 of the Rules of the Board of Regents are repealed and new subdivisions (a) and (b) are added, effective July 1, 2004, as follows:

(a) General requirements.

(1) No earned degree shall be conferred in this State on any person who has not completed the program of study requisite to such degree, which institution shall be authorized to confer the same.  No earned undergraduate or graduate degree shall be conferred unless the applicant has completed a program registered by the department.

(2) No earned degree shall be conferred unless the candidate has met the requirements of subparagraphs (i) or (ii) of this paragraph. 

 (i) Candidates who are of compulsory school age, pursuant to section 3205 of the Education Law or other requirement of law, shall provide the degree-granting institution with satisfactory evidence of meeting the following requirements:

(a) holding a high school diploma; or

(b) having completed the equivalent of a four-year high school course, as certified by the superintendent of schools or comparable chief school administrator of the candidate's school district of residence at the time such course was completed.

(ii) Candidates who are beyond compulsory school age, pursuant to section 3205 of the Education Law or other requirement of law, shall provide the degree-granting institution with satisfactory evidence of meeting the following requirements:

(a) holding a high school diploma; or

(b) having completed the equivalent of a four-year high school course, as certified by the superintendent of schools or comparable chief school administrator of the candidate's school district of residence at the time such course was completed; or

(c) holding a New York State high school equivalency diploma in accordance with the requirements of section 100.7 of this Title, or a local high school equivalency diploma in accordance with the requirements of section 100.8 of this Title, or a high school equivalency diploma issued by another state of the United States or an authorized local government of such state, or a high school equivalency diploma based on passing the General Educational Development (GED) test or its successor examination, or a high school equivalency diploma based upon completing requirements that are substantially equivalent to the requirements for a New York State high school equivalency diploma as prescribed in section 100.7 of this Title; or

(d) having completed 24 semester hours or the equivalent of college course work, distributed in subjects in accordance with the requirements of section 100.7(a)(2)(iii) of this Title, as verified by the institution conferring the degree; or

(e) having previously earned and been granted a degree from a degree-granting institution accredited by an accrediting agency approved by the United States Department of Education, pursuant to 20 USC 1099b; or from a postsecondary institution authorized by the Board of Regents to confer degrees; or from a degree-granting institution located in a jurisdiction outside the United States that is approved, authorized, or recognized by the jurisdiction's ministry of education or other governmental agency responsible for higher education. 

(b) Preliminary requirement.  Prior to a student subject to the compulsory education requirements, pursuant to section 3205 of the Education Law or other requirement of law, enrolling in a college credit course, the student shall submit to the degree-granting institution satisfactory evidence in writing that the student's attendance at such institution is approved by the superintendent of schools or comparable school administrator of the school district of residence or the chief school administrator of a nonpublic school or charter school that the student attends.   This requirement shall not apply in cases in which such college credit course is offered in its entirety outside the normal instructional year or hours of session of the public schools of the district of residence.    For purposes of this subdivision, satisfactory evidence of such approval may include, but is not limited to, a valid and in effect individualized home instruction plan (IHIP) for the student that authorizes college-level course work and is approved by the school district in accordance with section 100.10 of this Title,

            2.  Subdivision (d) of section 100.10 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is amended, effective July 1, 2004, as follows:

            (d) Content of individualized home instruction plan (IHIP).  Each child's IHIP shall contain:

            (1) . . .

            (2) . . .

            (3) the dates for submission to the school district of the parents' quarterly reports as required in subdivision (g) of this section.  These reports shall be spaced in even and logical periods; [and]

            (4) the names of the individuals providing instruction; and

            (5) a statement regarding whether or not the child will enroll in college-level course work as part of the child's instruction and the subjects to be covered by such course work.