On May 20, 2025, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted on new temporary high school graduation regulations that govern how students will demonstrate they met the state competency determination to graduate high school. These replace the requirement that students pass MCAS. The new regulations require students complete two years of high school English Language Arts, either Algebra I and Geometry or Integrated Math I and II, and one year of a science or technology/engineering class. They also add US history as a required course beginning with the class of 2027. You can find information about the regulations here: item3.docx.

MBAE issued this statement attributed to Ed Lambert in response to the Board’s vote:

“MBAE is deeply disappointed in the vote today of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to adopt a high school graduation standard that lowers the bar for students and will exacerbate inequities.

The Board did not utilize its full authority to meet its obligation under the State Constitution to provide all students with equal access to high-quality education.

The new regulations do not set minimum grade requirements, do not ensure students are getting high quality coursework, and do not address wide variation in grading policies. The state has set a shockingly low graduation standard that will likely be effect for many years.

Massachusetts has been a leader in education. Today’s actions are not consistent with that.”