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BOCES specialist outlines New York State's Portrait of a Graduate and proposed diploma changes
Summary
Stephanie Burns, a BOCES school improvement specialist, briefed the board on New York State's Portrait of a Graduate and four proposed transformations including adopting the Portrait (already approved), redefining credits, sunsetting certain assessment-linked diploma requirements, and moving to one statewide diploma with seals and endorsements; implementation is phased and could extend to 2029.
A representative from BOCES gave the Batavia board an overview of New York State's Portrait of a Graduate initiative and the education department's proposed changes to how students demonstrate readiness for graduation.
Stephanie Burns, a school improvement specialist at BOCES, said the work grew from a Blue Ribbon Commission's multi-year review and public feedback, then described four "transformations": adoption of the Portrait of a Graduate (the state has approved this), proposals to reorganize credits around the portrait's six attributes, measures to sunset diploma requirements tied strictly to Regents assessments (so passing a Regents exam would not be the only pathway to a diploma), and a move toward a single statewide high school diploma with local seals and endorsements to recognize distinctions.
Burns said the intent is to broaden how students can demonstrate proficiency (capstones, work-based learning, seals of attainment, CTE pathways) and to create rubrics so comparable expectations exist across districts. She emphasized that the Regents exams would still be administered to meet federal Every Student Succeeds Act requirements, but passage would not necessarily be a graduation barrier under the proposed approach. Burns described a phased rollout with planning complete, installation and initial implementation stages, and full scaling through about 2029.
Board members asked whether the changes would affect all grade levels and whether course rigor would remain consistent. Burns said the changes would be cohort-based (beginning with incoming ninth graders) and that rubrics are intended to maintain comparability across districts. On funding, Burns said state-level slides shown to the Board of Regents included allocations but the amounts and timeline were still under review and could shift; if more time or resources are needed, the state indicated the timeline may be extended.
What happens next: Burns offered to serve as a regional contact for questions and to collect local feedback for submission to State Education. The board received the briefing and did not take immediate action; district staff and board members were directed to review materials in the meeting packet.
