(Long Island, NY) With their Republican colleagues, Assemblymen Chad Lupinacci (R,C,I-South Huntington) and Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) today joined superintendents and principals from across the state for “The Next Step” press conference in the State Capitol to call for major reforms to New York’s public education system.
“School districts across New York State agree that Common Core standards and our current education system need reform,” Lupinacci said. “We need to eliminate the Gap Elimination Adjustment, which decreased education aid, and craft better education standards with the assistance of education experts and parents. Implementing The Next Step is exactly what educators, parents and students have been calling for, and I look forward to supporting this plan in the coming weeks.”
Members of the Assembly Minority Conference introduced the 2016 Education Agenda for New York State. Photo Credit: NYS.
“Our plan rolls out a comprehensive and aggressive education agenda full of new proposals and fresh ideas,” said Ra, Ranking Minority Member on the Education Committee. “Over the past few months it has come as no surprise that many education and state leaders have reversed their initial backing of Common Core. I strongly believe that we cannot move forward until we adopt measures that correct our state’s volatile curriculum, beginning with a full restoration of funding for districts across the state.”
The Next Step proposal includes:
- Eliminates the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) and delineate a definitive plan for the full phase-in of Foundation Aid;
- Repeals the current teacher evaluation system and empower the Board of Regents to establish, with requisite input from education experts, school administrators, parents and teachers, a teacher evaluation system to be implemented statewide;
- Creates new state learning standards with the help and guidance of teachers, school administrators, parents, and education experts;
- Ensures all state assessments are age/developmentally appropriate and of the highest quality;
- Increases the transparency of the state’s testing program and protect teachers and students from the negative effects of state assessments until major reforms are made; and
- Provides increased flexibility for our students by providing them with multiple pathways to success and our local school districts by giving them the freedom and resources to develop curriculum locally.
“Eliminating the GEA will provide the funding for school districts to bring back valuable extracurricular activities that were cut in recent years, and repealing the Common Core standards will allow parents and teachers and other education stakeholders an opportunity to create a better education in New York State. Passing this legislation should be common sense for my colleagues in the Assembly,” Lupinacci said.
(L to R): Assemblymen Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) and Chad Lupinacci (R,C,I-South Huntington). Photo Credit: NYS.
“As the Ranking Minority Member on the Higher Education Committee, I look forward to working closely with Assemblyman Ra, who is the Ranking Minority Member on the Education Committee to make sure our high school students have the opportunities and are fully prepared to pursue a degree in higher education,” Lupinacci concluded.
Stakeholders, from across New York State, including members of New York State Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) and school superintendents, also attended today’s event. They expressed an equal sense of urgency to adopt this agenda to address New York’s flawed education system.
“We will continue to work with the legislature to make sure our public schools are fully and fairly funded, an appropriate set of high standards is developed with the collaboration of teachers, drastically reduce testing times for the state tests in grades 3-8, decouple student test scores from teacher ratings, and protect our students’ personally identifiable information from third party vendors,” said Tim Farley, NYSAPE founding member.
“School districts across the state have been forced into a one-size-fits-all curriculum while having to deal with massive funding cuts as a result of the unfair GEA,” said Bob Horan, Superintendent of Schodak Central Schools. “It’s just not realistic to expect every school to be successful when we can’t implement the standards and assignments needed for our unique student populations. In order for school officials and educators to efficiently do our jobs, we need the transparency and flexibility that allows us to do so.”
“Our plan rolls out a comprehensive and aggressive education agenda full of new proposals and fresh ideas,” said Assemblyman Ra. “Over the past few months it has come as no surprise that many education and state leaders have reversed their initial backing of Common Core. I strongly believe that we cannot move forward until we adopt measures that correct our state’s volatile curriculum, beginning with a full restoration of funding for districts across the state.”
