Lynn schools adopt separate competency determination and revised graduation requirements aligning with DESE guidance

Lynn Public Schools on Oct. 9 moved two education policies — a revised graduation requirement (IKF) and a new competency determination policy (IKFE) — from the policy subcommittee to the full committee and approved both in the regular meeting.

The revisions to IKF retain the district’s February 2024 adoption of the MassCore framework for graduation coursework but remove competency-determination provisions that had been added in January 2025. The new IKFE policy codifies how the district will determine a student’s competency for a diploma under recent guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

DESE’s guidance requires districts to separate the two policies. Under IKFE, students may satisfy competency determination by one of several pathways: prior passage of MCAS (if applicable), a district final assessment, a capstone project, or an approved equivalent (referred to in district materials as “universal pathways”). The policy includes an appeal process and provides for case-by-case exceptions and special considerations for English learners and students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

District staff said there are no major changes for students graduating in the current year but noted that certain course sequencing requirements will affect future classes. For the class of 2027, the district clarified that two of three required years of history/social studies should include U.S. history and world history, and two of three years of lab-based science should include biology and chemistry; staff described the science sequencing as a codification of existing practice. The committee also agreed to grandfather one year of the arts for students already in the system.

Committee members asked for clarifications about exceptions and who may grant them. Staff answered that LVTI/CTE students and students on IEPs may qualify for specific exceptions (for example, applied chemistry for some students) and that the superintendent or a designated designee has authority to grant exemptions in particular circumstances. The district will submit the policies to DESE for review once the state portal opens.

The policy subcommittee moved both items to the full committee; full-committee roll calls recorded votes of present members in favor with Member Reid noted as absent. The committee said it would continue to provide notice to affected seniors and families to minimize disruption.

The policies reference DESE’s Competency Determination guidance and the MassCore framework; staff said the policies follow model language from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC).

Implementation details, including any additional universal pathways the superintendent may designate and the precise timeline for DESE review, were left to staff to finalize, and the committee requested ongoing updates as the state releases additional guidance.