Posted August 3, 2011

Update - August 4, 2011: SED has agreed to accept the $1.5 million in private funding for the January Regents exams. However, SED still needs to determine which exams will be held, and the specific logistics of holding those exams.

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and City Schools Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott today announced that they have secured $1.5 million in private funding that will allow students across the state to take the New York State Education Department Regents Exams in January 2012.

Previously, the New York State Education Department said that it would not offer the January exams for high school students beginning in 2012, after the Board of Regents voted to eliminate them due to budget cuts.

“This is a very positive step,” Superintendent D. Joseph Corr said. “It will provide more opportunities for students to graduate in a timely manner and subsequently demonstrate solid academic achievement.”

In June, NYSED announced that, due to State budget cuts, they would no long administer the January Regents Exams. After fundraising efforts by Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Walcott, six New Yorkers each made donations of $250,000, for a total of $1.5 million, which was accepted by the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City and the Fund for Public Schools.

As more information becomes available, we will keep you updated.