NYS Regents Exam for U.S. history canceled in wake of Buffalo shooting

ALBANY, N.Y. (WHEC) — New York State Department of Education will cancel the 2022 Regents Exam in U.S. history and government because the content could traumatize students.

Betty Rosa, the commissioner of the New York State Department of Education, announced the cancellation on Tuesday in a letter to colleagues. She wrote that department staff reviewed all June 2022 Regents Exams for content that could compound the trauma students have felt since the Buffalo mass shooting that killed ten.

Staff determined that the U.S. history and government exam could be traumatizing given the context. The letter didn’t give specifics as to what parts could cause trauma.

The department has decided to cancel the exam since it has already been printed and couldn’t be altered before the June 1 test date.

"To appropriately support our students and their well-being, the Department is canceling the administration of the Regents Examination in United States History and Government," Rosa wrote.

To finalize the cancelation, the Department of Education will ask the Board of Regents to exempt the test from students’ graduation requirements.