In response to the Saturday, May 14 Buffalo mass shooting in which an alleged white supremacist targeted a black community, the New York State Board of Regents on Tuesday announced the cancellation of a US History and Government (Framework) Regents Exam scheduled for Wednesday, June 1.
“In the wake of the Buffalo tragedy, it is not appropriate to administer the exam with a question that could compound the grief and hardship faced by our school communities,” said Emily DeSantis, the assistant commissioner for public affairs of the New York State Education Department (NYSED) in a press release.
The cancellation came just hours before a Uvalde, Texas high school student opened fire at Robb Elementary School, killing 19 students and two teachers as of press time.
The announcement revealed that an unspecified number of questions in the exam contained content that could be difficult for students processing trauma in the wake of the shooting. The exam was pulled during a review by content experts and New York State educators of all June 2022 Regents exams. The state said the test in question was developed over two years ago and field-tested to confirm it was educationally sound.
Because it was not possible to produce another test with different content or modify existing copies of the intended exam, the decision to cancel the test was made by NYSED.
Kingston High School announced it would proceed with a normal school day on June 1. Other districts have yet to address the exam cancellation.
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