Circonflexe optional on disparaître?

Question

I think that since the spelling reforms introduced into schools in France in 2016, the circonflexe over the letter "i" is now optional in words like "s'il vous plaît (plait)". I believe that also applies to the word disparaître. But in this exercise it is shown as an error if we type "disparaitre" without the little hat.

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Paul,
Thank you for pointing this out! You are correct that since the 1990 Spelling Reform verbs like 'disparaître' can be spelled without the circumflex accent. This has now been corrected althought the formulation now suggests that 'disparaitre' is the best answer whilst it is as good as 'disparaître'. This is a technical issue that we will sort out. 
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Answer

So for those of old school era, would you be marked wrong now for including the circumflex on text in an exam ? When i was a youngster you learned how to spell, 10 words a day and all that stuff, so it can be difficult to unlearn ?

Answer

Bonjour Anita,
Just like you, Anita, I was told (repeatedly) at school that you should have the circumflex accent on verbs such as 'disparaître' when conjugating them. And I agree that once you have gotten used to one way it can be rather difficult to undo ;-)
However, as I was saying to Paul, both spellings (with or without the circumflex accent) are correct and you shouldn't be marked wrong in Kwiziq's exercises. If you are, please let us know as it might be a technical issue. The formulation displayed on your screen will suggest that the option without the accent is the best ; but again, it is as good as the one with the accent.
In an exam, it will depend on your teachers / moderators / examinators. If you are marked wrong, I would suggest mentioning the 1990 French Spelling Reform ! ;-)
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée!