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You may scan an article and discover that it isn't what you thought it was about. Before you close the tab or delete that PDF, consider scanning the article one more time, specifically to look for citations that might be more on-target for your topic.

You don't need to look at every citation in the bibliography - you can look to the literature review to identify the core references that relate to your topic. Literature reviews are typically organized by subtopic within a research question or thesis. Find the paragraph or two that are closely aligned with your topic, make note of the author names, then locate those citations in the bibliography or footnote.

See the Find Articles page for what to do next:

See the Citation Searching page for more on following a citation trail:

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LibGuides: Evaluating Information: How to Read a Scholarly Article

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You may scan an article and discover that it isn't what you thought it was about. Before you close the tab or delete that PDF, consider scanning the article one more time, specifically to look for citations that might be more on-target for your topic.

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If you're in middle school or high school in New York State, chances are that you've heard of the NYSED Regents exams. In fact, all NY public high school students have to take (and pass) a certain number of these exams to graduate from high school.

In this article, we'll discuss exactly what the Regents are and which Regents you'll need to take. We'll also give you tips on how to prep for the Regents as well as the Regents testing schedule for 2023.

feature image credit: Nicolas Raymond/Used under CC BY 2.0

What Are the NYSED Regents Exams?

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) Regents exams are subject-based tests generally taken at the end of the school year in June (although there are also August and January test dates for makeups/mid-year exams). By subject-based, we mean that you aren't just tested on broad categories like "Math" or "Science"-instead, you'll take Regents in specific subjects, like Algebra 1, Chemistry, US History & Government, and so on.

Currently, there are ten Regents exams that most students will encounter:

English Language Arts

Algebra 1

Algebra 2

Geometry

Global History & Geography

US History & Government

Earth Science

Living Environment (Bio)

Chemistry

Physics

Each Regents exam is administered over the course of three hours in a single day (rest in peace 2011, six-hours-over-two-days English Regents exam; you will not be missed).

Depending on the subject, Regents exams will include multiple-choice questions and short-answer questions or essay responses (including document-based questions). Based on your performance, you'll receive a scaled score from 1-100 on each test.

The four Science Regents exams (Earth Science, Living Environment, Chemistry, and Physics) also include separately-scheduled lab practicals; you can read more about these in our articles about the Earth Science, Living Environment, and Chemistry Regents.

Because there are multiple subject-based tests that you'll have to take, the Regents aren't exactly considered a high school exit examination, which tend to be more Math/English Language Arts-focused.

However, you will still have to take at least five Regents exams (and in many cases, eight tests) across grades 9-12 to get your NY high school diploma -if you're in public school, that is. If you go to private school, you're in luck-the Regents are only mandatory for students attending public school in New York.

Now that you have a better idea of what the Regents are, we'll move on to discussing how many Regents exams you have to take.

Paul Townsend/Flickr

How Many Regents Do You Need to Take?

The requirements for which and how many NYS Regents exams you need to graduate (and how well you need to do on the exams) depend on what kind of diploma you'll be graduating with.

There are three main categories of Regents diploma: regular Regents diplomas, Regents with Advanced Designation diplomas, and diplomas for students with special circumstances (e.g., English language learners, students with IEPs).

Here's a brief summary of the differences between the three categories and how many Regents you need to pass to graduate with each diploma type:

Diploma Type# of Regents to Pass (Minimum)
Passing Score

Regents

5; 1 math, 1 science, 1 social studies, 1 ELA, and 1 additional math/science/social studies/English assessment (or state-approved alternate assessment)

65 and above

Regents with Advanced Designation

9; 1 ELA, 3 Math, 1 Living Environment, 1 additional science, 1 social studies, 1 (any) additional state-approved Regents exam, and 1 (any) NYC World Languages exam

65 and above

Local (students with special circumstances)

5; 1 math, 1 science, 1 social studies, 1 ELA, and 1 additional math/science/social studies/English assessment (or alternate assessment)

55 and above

Source: NYSED.gov. For the final word on what requirements you need to meet, refer to the official NYSED Regents guidelines here.

The majority of NY public school students will graduate with either a regular Regents diploma or a Regents with Advanced Designation diploma. We'll go through the testing requirements for those two categories in greater detail next.

Regents Diploma Requirements

Unless you have an IEP or are an English language learner, you need to meet the Regents diploma requirements to graduate high school.

You'll need to pass at least four Regents exams (get a 65 or higher) to get this Regents diploma:

One math Regents (Algebra 1, Algebra 2, or Geometry)

One science Regents (Earth Science, Living Environment, Chemistry, or Physics)

One social studies Regents (Global History or US History)

The English Language Arts Regents

In addition to these four tests, you must choose one of the following six Pathway options:

Unless you choose one of the alternate Pathway options, this means that you'll need to take five Regents exams (and get a 65 or above on each) to graduate.
If you just miss the cutoff on one of your tests (scoring a 60-64), you can appeal to your district to still allow you to graduate; if you score lower than that, or if you score below 65 on multiple tests, however, you'll need to either re-take the test(s) and pass or take another Regents and pass.

If you're looking to challenge yourself, you can aim for a Regents with Honors diploma; the only difference is that instead of only needing a 65 or above, you need to have an average of 90 or above across all your Regents (whether you take four or five).

There isn't really a material advantage to your college applications to getting a Regents with Honors diploma (except possibly if you're applying to SUNY or CUNY colleges), but if your teachers count your Regents exam grade as part of your course grade, it's to your benefit to do well on the Regents you take. (If I recall correctly, I believe that for some of my high school classes, our Regents grades were counted as two test scores when calculating our grades in the final quarter of the year.)

Regents With Advanced Designation Requirements

The requirements for the Regents with Advanced Designation diploma include everything you need to do for the Regents Diploma plus passing three additional Regents exams, for a total of seven or eight Regents exams.

As with getting a Regents with Honors diploma, unless you're applying to a SUNY or CUNY college which uses your Regents diploma level as a placement or admissions criteria, there's no real benefit in specifically aiming for a Regents with Advanced Designation diploma.

However, if you're taking a rigorous high school course load (honors classes, APs/IBs), you will likely end up qualifying for the Regents with Advanced Designation diploma as a byproduct of your schedule if your school requires Regents to be taken at the end of the year for a particular course.

For example, as an eighth-grader I took Regents Earth Science, which was the honors science class for that grade (vs. regular Earth Science), and so had to take the Regents at the end of the year (because that's what my school required). For other classes, the Regents exams were not only required at the end of the year, but were part of our grades for the final quarter of the year, so it behooved us to try to do well on them.

The "traditional" Regents with Advanced Designation path requires you to pass eight Regents exams:

Three math (Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry)

Two science (one physical, one life: Living Environment, Earth Science, Chemistry, or Physics)

One social studies (Global History & Geography and US History & Government)

One English Language Arts

One Pathway

Alternatively, you can swap out any of the Regents exams listed above for another state-approved alternative assessment.

In addition to getting a Regents with Advanced Designation diploma, you can potentially get additional laudations through these three options:

Mastery in Math: meet all Advanced Designation requirements and score an 85 or above on each Regents math test.

Mastery in Science: meet all Advanced Designation requirements and score an 85 or above on each of three Regents science tests taken.

Honors: meet all Advanced Designation requirements and score an average of 90 or above across all Regents exams taken.

Regents Schedule, 2023

Below, we've created tables with the Regents schedule for January 2023, June 2023, and August 2023. We'll update it if test times and dates change.

One important note before jumping to the Regents schedule: All Regents exams have admission deadlines, aka the latest time you can show up to take the test and still be allowed in. These deadlines are 45 minutes after the time the test administration starts.

For example, let's say you sleep in past your alarm for your 9:15 am English Language Arts exam (not that I know anyone who did this). As long as you show up and are admitted to the testing room by 10:00 am, you can still take the test (although you'll still only have until 12:15 pm to finish).

January 2023

Morning (9:15 am)Afternoon (1:15 pm)

Tuesday, January 24
English Language Arts

Living Environment

Wednesday, January 25
Geometry

Algebra I
Physical Setting/Physics

Thursday, January 26
Global History & Geography II

Algebra II

Friday, January 27
Physical Setting/Chemistry
Physical Setting/Earth Science

Source: NYSED.gov

Admission deadline: 10 am for morning tests; 2 pm for afternoon tests. If you arrive at the classroom/wherever your test is being held after this time, you will not be permitted to enter and take the test.

June 2021

Week 1
Morning (9:15 am)

Thursday, June 17

U.S. History and Government (Framework)

Week 2
Morning (9:15 am)Afternoon (1:15pm)

Wednesday, June 14
English Language Arts

Living Environment

Thursday, June 15
Global History & Geography II

Physical Setting

Friday, June 16
Physical Setting/Earth Science

Physical Setting/Chemistry

Week 3
Morning (9:15 am)

Tuesday, June 20

Geometry

Wednesday, June 21
Algebra II

Thursday, June 22
Physical Setting/Physics

Sources: NYSED.gov

Admission deadline: 10:00 am for morning tests; 2:00 pm for afternoon tests. If you arrive at the classroom/wherever your test is being held after this time, you will not be permitted to enter and take the test.

August 2023

U.S. History and Government (Framework)

Physical Setting/Earth Science

Physical Setting/Chemistry

Global History and Geography II

Sources: NYSED.gov

Admission deadline: 9:15 am for morning tests; 1:15 pm for afternoon tests. If you arrive at the classroom/wherever your test is being held after this time, you will not be permitted to enter and take the test.

Regents Prep Tips

On our blog, we've written several other articles that include specific tips for different Regents tests, including:

However, we also have a few general Regents prep tips that are applicable to studying for any Regents exam.

#1: Spread Out Your Studying

Because Regents exams cover a whole year's material (or in the case of Global History, two years'), cramming doesn't work super well, particularly if you're taking multiple Regents exams (plus an AP or two).

Start reviewing your material at least two weeks before the test. You don't have to study for hours every night, but giving yourself enough lead time before the test means you'll have more flexibility in the amount of time you spend on each unit. For instance, you might find that you only need to spend a day reviewing US History up through the Civil War, but need to spend a week on Reconstruction.

Spreading out your studying also means you'll be sleeping in between studying, which will help cement your memory of all that information you're reading and quizzing yourself on. Speaking of which...

#2: Get Sleep the Night Before the Regents

Remember that fun, not-at-all-something-that-happened thing I mentioned in the scheduling section about sleeping through the Regents? Yeah. While I didn't do this, I know people who did, and rushing to get to school before the deadline and then rushing through the test is not super conducive to scoring well.

Even if you're someone who wakes up at the same time every day without an alarm, though, getting a good night's rest leading up to a test will magnify the results of your studying. Personally, I've found that getting a good night's sleep two days before the test is also critical, but you may find your body works differently.

#3: Match Regents to Your AP Exams

As a NY public school student, Regents are an inescapable fact of life, but you can use them to your advantage.

If you're thinking about applying to any schools that require or recommend AP Exams, it's really helpful to take them at the same time you're taking a Regents on the same subject. This can help you get AP exams out of the way early on in high school, leaving you more time to focus on the regular SAT/ACT and college apps in junior and senior year.

Plus, the overlap in material between the Regents and other tests means that you often need to just study once, thoroughly (rather than having to study multiple times for each test). For example, you could self-study for the AP World history exam and take that the same time you take the Global History Regents in 10th grade, and earn some college credit to boot!

The only thing to be cautious of is overloading yourself, particularly if you have final exams in addition to the Regents in a particular subject. Speaking as someone who took the US History Regents, US History AP, and US History SAT Subject Test all within a month of each other at the end of junior year, burnout can be a very real thing.
Don't overload yourself with tests to the point of burning out.
What's Next?

Are you taking the APs as well as the NYSED Regents? Make sure your schedule doesn't get snarled by comparing Regents test dates with upcoming AP dates.

NYSED might not care if you get an A or a C as long as you pass the New York State Regents, but colleges certainly do. Learn what a good GPA is for college and how to convert your GPA to a 4.0 here.

Thinking about what to do this summer after the NYSED Regents? Read through our guides on what high school students should do over the summer (besides summer assignments), including pre-college summer programs, SAT/ACT boot camp, or getting a job.

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

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New York State Regents Exams: What Are They? When Do You Take Them?

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What are the New York Regents Exams, and how many do you have to take to graduate? Learn about the NYSED Regents schedule and requirements.

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The NYS Regents Exam: A Comprehensive Overview

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The NYS Regents Exam: A Comprehensive Overview

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Regents Overview

The Common Core Learning Standards

Objectives of the NYS Regents Exams

Measuring Students' Knowledge and Skills

The four main categories of Regents exams are English , math , science , and social studies . To earn a Regents diploma, students need a minimum score of 65 on at least five Regents exams, as well as at least 22 credits in required courses. Students may also opt to take certain AP exams or SAT subject tests instead of certain Regents exams.

Measuring the Quality of Schools and Teachers

Regents Diplomas

The Regents Diploma

The Regents with Advanced Designation Diploma

Format of the Regents Exams

In most cases, students are given up to three hours to complete the NYS Regents exams . The Earth Science Regents Exam is the most unique, as it also includes a laboratory part that is completed two weeks before the written tests. The tasks in the laboratory section are six minutes each.

Regents Overview

The Common Core Learning Standards

Objectives of the NYS Regents Exams

Measuring Students' Knowledge and Skills

The four main categories of Regents exams are English , math , science , and social studies . To earn a Regents diploma, students need a minimum score of 65 on at least five Regents exams, as well as at least 22 credits in required courses. Students may also opt to take certain AP exams or SAT subject tests instead of certain Regents exams.

Measuring the Quality of Schools and Teachers

Regents Diplomas

The Regents Diploma

The Regents with Advanced Designation Diploma

Format of the Regents Exams

In most cases, students are given up to three hours to complete the NYS Regents exams . The Earth Science Regents Exam is the most unique, as it also includes a laboratory part that is completed two weeks before the written tests. The tasks in the laboratory section are six minutes each.

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The NYS Regents Exam: A Comprehensive Overview

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Passing the NYS Regents exams is the equivalent of earning a high school diploma. The tests are rigorous, so you'll need sufficient preparation to do your best. Students across New York State fill exam halls each June to take the Regents exams, which assess whether the students have met the NYS Learning Standards.

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Tips for Writing a Strong Rubric - Rubric Examples Included!

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Our Tips for Writing a Strong Rubric include ideas for creating both Holistic and Analytical Rubrics. This guide provides examples of rubrics and specific action items!

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BACK TO interdisciplinary

interdisciplinary vs. multidisciplinary: What's the difference?

Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary describe work that involves multiple separate disciplines. Interdisciplinary work typically involves the linking or combination of two or more fields of study to create a synthesized whole. Multidisciplinary work draws on the knowledge from two or more fields of study as well, but is often used to describe work in which the boundaries of the disciplines involved are maintained.

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1. combining or involving two or more academic disciplines or fields of study: The economics and history departments are offering an interdisciplinary seminar on Asia.

2. combining or involving two or more professions, technologies, departments, or the like, as in business or industry.

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composed of or combining several usually separate branches of learning or fields of expertise: The journal's first article was a multidisciplinary study of the 18th century.

Compare More Words

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Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words

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The world's leading online dictionary: English definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more. A trusted authority for 25+ years!

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Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and convergence research are some of the most predominate research approaches requested by funding opportunities. The terms can seem interchangeable because of their vague and similar definitions. However, the approaches do have subtle differences that are important when it comes to responding to funding opportunities.

Multidisciplinary research takes place when faculty from different disciplines work independently on a common problem or research question. In this approach, faculty share research goals and work on the same problem, but look at it from their own discipline's perspective. The findings from each discipline are supplementary to each other. The advantage to multidisciplinary research is that each aspect can be analyzed by a particular specialty, which is often necessary to answer complex research problems.

There are times when research needs things to go a step farther than multiple disciplines each looking at a problem through their own lens - that is when interdisciplinary research happens.

A National Academies report titled Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research , defines interdisciplinary research as, "a mode of research by teams or individuals that integrates information, data, techniques, tools, perspectives, concepts, and/or theories from two or more disciplines or bodies of specialized knowledge to advance fundamental understanding or to solve problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of a single discipline or area of research practice." In other words, rather than working independently, with interdisciplinary research disciplines interact and work collaboratively.

Interdisciplinary research relies on shared knowledge. When this happens, a fundamental shift can take place over time and a new interdisciplinary field emerges. For example, biochemistry, nanoscience, and neuroscience all emerged as interdisciplinary fields that eventually grew to become their own disciplines.

Recently, another term - convergence research - is at the forefront of research opportunities coming out of a number of federal agencies. For instance, the National Science Foundation (NSF) named Growing Convergence Research as one of their 10 Big Ideas.

When defined, convergence research has similarities with multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research. Like interdisciplinary research, convergence research involves integrating disciplines and shifting thought processes, but convergence research takes things even further. In the National Academies report Convergence: Facilitating Transdisciplinary Integration of Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering and Beyond , convergence research is explained as "a comprehensive synthetic framework for tackling scientific and societal challenges that exist at the interfaces of multiple fields. By merging these diverse areas of expertise in a network of partnerships, convergence stimulates innovation from basic science discovery to translational application."

A convergence approach to research integrates insights and approaches from what have historically been distinct scientific and technological disciplines. At its core, two things are necessary in convergence research: 1) It must be deeply collaborative, involving a deep integration of disciplines; and 2) It results in a positive societal impact.

With small but distinct differences, it may be helpful to think of these three approaches to research as stepping stones that build upon one another. Multidisciplinary research is the building block of both interdisciplinary and convergence research. Likewise, interdisciplinary research has led to convergence research, which goes beyond the integration of disciplines to bring together disciplines that have not historically worked together and adding the component of societal impact. As research approaches evolve, it is likely that in another decade it will be said that convergence research is a stepping stone to the next approach being pursued by researchers and funding agencies.

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Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and convergence research are some of the most predominate research approaches requested by funding opportunities. The terms can seem interchangeable because of their vague and similar definitions. However, the approaches do have subtle differences that are important when it comes to responding to funding opportunities.

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Is it going to transform public schools, finally bringing education into the age of digitally driven personalization embodied by companies such as Amazon and Netflix? Or is it a billionaire-backed boondoggle, aimed primarily at replacing teachers and extracting data from children? When it comes to "personalized learning," there's no shortage of hyperbole from either proponents or critics.

Here's what you need to know about the realities of one of the biggest, most controversial trends in K-12 education-starting with the most difficult question first.

What exactly is personalized learning?
Inside K-12 schools, the term is used to mean just about anything.
For many educators, it's about using adaptive software that adjusts to each student's skill level. Sometimes, it's about the systematic use of digital data to inform big decisions, like how to group students. Other schools focus on giving students more say over what projects they undertake, or how they present their work. And increasingly, personalized-learning proponents also take a much wider lens, saying schools must nurture each individual child's social, emotional, and physical development.

Some see such scattered and nebulous definitions as reason to worry that personalized learning will go the way of other short-lived reforms. Others are more positive.

"In the same way that Inuits have lots of different words for 'snow,' I think these are all personalized learning," says Larry Berger, the CEO of ed-tech company Amplify and a leading thinker and writer on the topic for over a decade.

What's the hope behind the movement?
Very broadly speaking, the idea is to customize the learning experience for each student according to his or her unique skills, abilities, preferences, background, and experiences.
The hope is that will improve a wide range of student outcomes, from engagement to achievement to wellbeing.

Personalized-learning pioneer Dianne Tavenner told Education Week in 2017 that it's about the type of education good teachers have always envisioned, but haven't always had the tools to make a reality.

"Personalized learning is a way to actually enact the pedagogy we believe in and that kids thrive in," said Tavenner, the founder of Summit Public Schools, a California-based charter network that operates about a dozen of its own personalized-learning schools while licensing its personalized-learning software to hundreds of others.

So is this a new idea or not?
Not really.
The personalized learning movement has two primary wings, each of which is grounded in decades-old (and often warring) philosophies about how children learn. The so-called "engineering model" of personalized learning emphasizes efficient mastery of academic content. The idea is that experts can map out what each child needs to learn, measure what of that each already knows, and then create the optimal path for him or her to learn the rest.

Other approaches to personalized learning are rooted in progressive education traditions. This wing of the movement generally holds that learning happens when schools tap into students' interests and passions, giving them individualized opportunities to ask questions and explore and take risks.

The former approach dates at least back to the 1950s, when psychologist B.F. Skinner was experimenting with "teaching machines" intended to let students answer questions and receive feedback at their own pace. The latter goes back more than a century, to John Dewey. It's often seen today in schools that emphasize more project-based learning.

In both cases, what is new is the way in which technology-from big data to online collaboration tools to social media-is being used to amplify methods educators have been using more or less forever.

Where did the new push for personalized learning come from?
Big-picture, it's a reflection of deeper trends in both society and the K-12 sector.
Technology has already transformed other sectors of society, such as retail. Often, this has taken the form of using digital data to learn more about individuals and their preferences, then target them with information, advertisements, and recommendations. In part, personalized learning is a reflection of the push to apply those tools and ideas to education.

It's also emerged out of rising opposition to standardized tests and the so-called "factory model of education," which critics contend has left both children and teachers feeling like widgets inside the classroom. These broad forces started to come together in tangible form roughly a decade ago.

Beginning around 2009, for example, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation began committing hundreds of millions of dollars to support research and development around personalized learning.

Then, under President Obama, the U.S. Education Department gave half a billion dollars to encourage districts to embrace the trend, primarily via its competitive-grant program known as Race to the Top. More recently, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the venture-philanthropy group started by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, pediatrician Priscilla Chan, has vowed to give hundreds of millions of dollars per year in support of its vision for "whole-child personalized learning," encompassing students' emotional and physical development as well as their academic learning.

States, companies, other philanthropies, and a network of nonprofits and advocacy groups are also now backing the movement.

Do personalized learning strategies work?
Oh yeah. Big-time.
In 2018, for example, the Education Week Research Center conducted a nationally representative survey of the country's school principals.

More than half characterized personalized learning as either a "transformational way to improve public education" or a "promising idea."

A whopping 97 percent said their schools were using digital technologies to personalize learning in some form or fashion.

Does personalized learning work?
That's precisely the wrong question to ask.
John Pane, a senior scientist at the RAND Corporation and a leading researcher of the personalized learning movement says the reason why goes back to the incredible variation in how personalized learning actually happens inside real classrooms.

"At this stage, we really need to be looking at the actual components of what people are trying to do and assess them each on their own," Pane said.

That's an argument that proponents generally embrace. They point to the strong research base for some of the core building blocks of most personalized-learning models, including providing students with differentiated instruction and real-time feedback.

Some studies of specific personalized-learning products, used in particular situations and under particular circumstances, have also yielded promising signs.

But other such studies have shown small or even negative results.

And what about personalized-learning models that seek to transform entire schools? Experts estimate there are maybe 1,000 or so such schools in the country. How are they doing?

Summit is one of the best-known, best-funded examples, having received more than $40 million from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. But Tavenner's group has declined to undergo independent third-party evaluation.

The results for other models that have been studied are generally not great.

"The evidence base is very weak at this point," said Pane, who led a Gates-funded study of about 40 personalized-learning schools, finding modest gains and big implementation challenges.

Are there other arguments against personalized learning?
You betcha.
Critics such as independent researcher Audrey Watters warn that personalized learning is a pretext for "massive data collection" and surveillance of students. They point to the rapid adoption of analogous technologies in other sectors (think, for example, Facebook), before the unintended and adverse privacy-related consequences we are now seeing could be ironed out.

That 2018 Education Week Research Center survey also found that a strong majority of the nation's principals worried that the trend was leading to too much screen time for students (85 percent expressed "some," "a lot" or "a great deal" of concern), students working alone too often (77 percent), and the tech industry gaining too much influence over public education (67 percent.)

Where does all that leave schools?

Pane and his team at RAND say K-12 educators, administrators, and policymakers are in the unenviable position of having to make high-stakes educational decisions with "imperfect evidence."

That doesn't mean they should stick their heads in the sand, the RAND team said. Personalized learning holds promise. Careful, cautious attempts at some elements of the trend may make sense. Stick to common sense and the evidence we do have, they advise. Resist pressure to throw out established practices that work just because they're not new and shiny.
But think twice before diving in.
"I would not advise schools to dump massive resources into going fully into personalized learning," Laura S. Hamilton, a senior behavioral scientist and distinguished chair in learning and assessment at the RAND Corporation, told Education Week in 2017. "Experiment with some new approaches that might be a good fit for your particular school or district, but monitor it very closely."

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Is it going to transform public schools, finally bringing education into the age of digitally driven personalization embodied by companies such as Amazon and Netflix? Or is it a billionaire-backed boondoggle, aimed primarily at replacing teachers and extracting data from children? When it comes to "personalized learning," there's no shortage of hyperbole from either proponents or critics.

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The 3 Federal Laws that protect the rights of individuals with Special Needs

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The 3 Federal Laws that protect the rights of individuals with Special Needs

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Disability and Special Education Laws - MPACT

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The 3 Federal Laws that protect the rights of individuals with disabilities: Americans with Disabilites Act Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 is a federal civil rights law that gives protections to individuals with disabilities.

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Advancing Public Safety for Officers and Individuals with Disabilities

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Advancing Public Safety for Officers and Individuals with Disabilities

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Studies indicate that somewhere between one and three percent of Americans have intellectual disability. The most common diagnoses associated with intellectual disability include autism, Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), but not every person with a developmental disability will have intellectual disability.

It can be quite challenging for law enforcement officers to spot these disabilities, which often have no outward or obvious signs. As a result, people with I/DD are often mistakenly perceived as suspicious when, in actuality, the behavior is related to their disability. In interactions with law enforcement, some individuals with I/DD may not be able to understand or respond appropriately to an officer's commands or, out of fear, may even try to run away. Like many others, officers may have preconceived notions about disability and related behaviors, but officers need to serve all communities in a fair and impartial way.

One tactical philosophy for engaging people with I/DD and challenging preconceived notions is to encourage officers to slow things down and ask themselves, "What's really going on here?" This provides an opportunity to build rapport with an individual, ask questions, and assess the entirety of the situation. Taking a few moments to observe the person and take in the situation will allow officers to better gauge if there is an immediate threat and allows for formulation of a plan to call for assistance or deescalate the situation, as appropriate. It is important to note that an officer's very presence or method of response could quickly escalate a situation, so the more knowledge an officer has about how to interact with someone with I/DD, the better.

The following table lists commonly misunderstood behaviors that are associated with I/DD and are also associated with perceived criminal activities and threats. The left side of the table describes the behavior, while the right side of the table describes examples of actions law enforcement can take to assess the situation, call in assistance, or resolve the situation. In all of these situations, officers must first assess the situation for safety.

By slowing things down and assessing the situation, officers are increasing safety for themselves and for people with I/DD. They are also acting in compliance with disability rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability. Officers are not expected to be able to diagnose I/DD or be held to clinical standards of knowledge about these disabilities, but by taking a few minutes to fully assess a situation, officers can ensure everyone's safety and respond to the person with I/DD more effectively.

Individuals with I/DD and the larger disability community need to believe that when they interact with law enforcement, they will be respected, treated fairly, not experience discrimination, and will have a voice in the criminal justice process. Building stronger lines of communication between the disability and policing communities will go a long way toward building meaningful relationships and ensuring that a traditionally marginalized population receives the same access to policing services as those without disabilities.

See the Arc's website for further information on serving those with I/DD.

Leigh Ann Davis, Director
Criminal Justice Initiatives, The Arc of the United States

Ariel Simms, Senior Program Manager & Attorney
Criminal Justice Initiatives, The Arc of the United States

Melissa Bradley, Senior Policy Analyst
COPS Office

Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Podcast Series

This special series takes an in-depth look at measures that law enforcement officers and agencies can use to more effectively and appropriately serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The series features representatives from The Arc of the United States, the largest national community-based organization advocating for and serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; Chief Will Johnson of the Arlington Police Department (TX) and University of University of Illinois at Chicago Professor Amy Watson; and founder of the Growth Through Opportunity program, Travis Atkins.

Listen/Download | Read Transcript

Listen/Download | Read Transcript

Listen/Download | Read Transcript

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Advancing Public Safety for Officers and Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD)

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Studies indicate that somewhere between one and three percent of Americans have intellectual disability. The most common diagnoses associated with intellectual disability include autism, Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), but not every person with a developmental disability will have intellectual disability.

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Just like anyone else, individuals with I/DD come into contact with the criminal justice system as suspects, defendants, incarcerated persons, victims, and/or witnesses.

People with disabilities are more likely to experience victimization, be arrested, be charged with a crime, and serve longer prison sentences once convicted, than those without disabilities. Individuals with I/DD with other marginalized identities (e.g., people of color, members of indigenous communities, and those who identify as LGBTQIA+), are even more likely to get caught up in the system.

Once entangled, they face unique challenges, bias, and inaccessible services, which only perpetuate the cycle of criminal justice involvement.

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Disability in the Criminal Justice System | The Arc

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Just like anyone else, individuals with I/DD come into contact with the criminal justice system as suspects, defendants, incarcerated persons, victims, and/or witnesses. People with disabilities are more likely to experience victimization, be arrested, be charged with a crime, and serve longer prison sentences once convicted, than those without disabilities.