SCHOOL DISTRICTS ACROSS Massachusetts are working to finalize new graduation policies this fall, and voters last fall eliminated the requirement for students to pass the MCAS exam to earn a high school diploma.
Under updated regulations adopted in May by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, each district must develop and submit a local Competency Determination (CD) policy and graduation requirements to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) by December 31.
The shift comes in the wake of the 2024 ballot law ending the decades-long MCAS graduation requirement. In response, DESE Commissioner Pedro Martinez issued guidance in July detailing how districts must outline the coursework and assessment methods they will use to determine student competency in English language arts, math, and science through grade 10. Beginning with the class of 2027, U.S. history will also be required.
Districts must define which courses will fulfill these requirements, how students will demonstrate mastery, and how policies will accommodate students with disabilities, English learners and late enrollees. They are also required to create an appeals process and allow for transcript reviews for current or former students.
All policies must be approved locally before being submitted to DESE through the state’s online system.
Students must also meet local graduation requirements — such as credits, attendance or community service — which are separate and cannot replace the state-mandated CD policy.
The regulatory changes are temporary. In January, Gov. Maura Healey formed the Massachusetts K–12 Statewide Graduation Council to recommend a permanent statewide graduation standard. That 31-member group is expected to issue its final recommendations by July 2026.
On Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler will hold a press conference at Attleboro High School to unveil the council’s “Vision of a Graduate” and mark the council’s “first step towards recommending a statewide set of high school graduation standards,” according to a media advisory.
The advisory says the vision statement is intended to articulate what Massachusetts students should know and be able to do by the time they graduate, forming a foundation for a statewide framework.
The council has held eight listening sessions. Any permanent changes to graduation requirements will likely require further regulatory or legislative action.