As an alternative to specific Regents and local diploma requirements, the Commissioner of Education is permitting a student to earn a maximum of 6 1/2units of credit for either a Regents or local diploma without completing units of study.

In such a situation, and to be consistent with the Commissioner's Regulations, the following conditions are in effect:

1)     The High School Building Principal will be the Superintendent of Schools' designee to determine that the student will benefit academically by exercising this alternative.

2)     The student must achieve a score of at least eighty-five percent (85%) or its equivalent as determined by the commissioner on a State-developed or State-approved examination. Regents examinations can be used to meet this condition for Regents or local diploma qualification: State-wide General Examinations can be used only for local diplomas.

3)      The  student must  attend  school  or  received a  substantially equivalent  instruction in

accordancewith the law and complete either (a) or (b):

a.      The student must pass an oral examination and have attended school in accordance with the law. The oral examination will be in the subject field in which the student wishes credit and cover suitable content to be comprehensive. Questions will be formulated by the department chairperson and a subject teacher and submitted to the Principal for approval: The examination questions must be:

(1)    Comprehensive:cover each of the major topical areas of the subject.

(2)    Deep: demonstrate a  level of difficulty consistent with the  proposed State examination.

(3)    Balanced: the examination questions will require a group of the objective and general concepts of a course.

There will be three-person oral testing board consisting of the Principal (or the Principal's designee), the subject area chairperson, and a teacher- level of the subject. (Scoring will be done holistically for each question on a "Pass" or "Fail" basis, with a minimum of two  (2) "Pass" grades needed.) To pass the examination, a "Pass" score is required for each question.

b.      The student must complete a special project to demonstrate proficiency in the subject matter area. The following specific requirements must be met:

(1)    Science: project will demonstrate proficiency in laboratory techniques.

(2)    Mathematics: project will demonstrate proficiency in problem solving skills.

(3)    English/Social  Studies:  project  will  demonstrate  acceptable  research  paper writing.

(4)   Foreign Language: project will demonstrate proficiency in conversation and literature or culture.

(5)  Visual Arts/Practical Arts/Fine Arts: project will demonstrate individual accomplishment of merit (this may include tasks such as a research paper, an exhibit, a portfolio, or a recital).

The project proposal is submitted by the required date. The student must first meet with a project committee consisting of the Principal (or the Principal's designee), the subject area chairperson, and a subject teacher to determine if the project will demonstrate acceptable proficiency.

The  review  committee   must  determine  that  the  proposed  project  contains  the following essential elements:

(1)   Comprehensiveness: the project will demonstrate that the applicant has an understanding of the major topical areas of the subject. Projects which do not include required major topical areas will be unacceptable.

(2)    Depth:   the  project   will   demonstrate   that   the   applicant   has  a  depth   of understanding which is consistent with the level of academic difficulty of the proposed examination.

(3)    Magnitude: the project's magnitude will encompass the entire subject area of the proposed examination. Projects of narrow scope will be unacceptable.

(4)    Preparation:   The  project's   preparation   will   demonstrate   equivalency   with regular course preparation.

(5)    Perseverance: ordinarily, the project must be equivalent to a minimum of forty

(40) hours of work.

The project committee will meet after completion to determine acceptability.

4)     A student may obtain the required unit of credit for art and/or music by participating in a school's major performing organization or in exceptional circumstances, in an advanced out-of-school art or music activity.