(Long Island, NY) On Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 11:00 am, at the Suffolk Community College, Michael J. Grant Campus Health, Sports and Education Center Lecture Hall (1001 Crooked Hill Road, Brentwood) Senator John Flanagan (2nd Senate District), Chairman of the New York State Senate Standing Committee on Education, will be issuing a report of findings and recommendations related to the Committee’s series of statewide hearings entitled: Regents Reform Agenda: “Assessing” Our Progress.
The report will include an overview of the testimony heard by the Committee and strong recommendations of administrative action that can be taken immediately by the State Education Department (SED) to address concerns regarding the Department’s flawed implementation of Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS).
In addition, the report will include recommendations for budgetary action in the form of increased funding for professional development, as well as legislative proposals sponsored by Senator Flanagan to establish greater accountability for the recent changes to education policy in New York State and to address the concerns of unnecessary/over-testing of school-aged children and privacy issues related to the operation of a state-wide Education Data Portal (EDP).
The Senate Education Committee was the first official entity to hold statewide public hearings to gather testimony and recommendations from a wide variety of educational stakeholders on concerns related to the implementation of Common Core. The report being issued contains critically important first steps that can be taken immediately by SED to address the concerns raised at the hearings, and includes recommendations for budgetary and legislative action that can be take by the Legislature and Executive upon their return to Albany in January for the 2014 Legislative Session.
“Regardless of where you live, all parents want the same thing for their children – a good education,” stated Senator Flanagan. “Our State’s most basic obligation is to make sure all students are given the best chance at success in school and life. Setting rigorous academic standards to ensure that all students are college and career ready should always be an important goal. However, it must balanced by a fair and even implementation of those new standards to allow our children to adjust and adapt appropriately. The recommendations contained within this report are a good first step in taken corrective action on the problems associated with implementing new state learning standards.”
The report will be submitted to the Board of Regents, Commissioner of Education and Governor.
Follow Up Report from SAANYS
Senator Flanagan, chairperson of the Senate Education Committee, conducted five regional hearings between September 17 and November 13 in order to assess progress in regard to "The Regents Reform Agenda." Earlier today, the senator released a report in which he suggests actions to be taken by the State Education Department and outlines details related to legislation to be introduced. The link below will provide access to a CapitalNewYork.com article. A link in the second paragraph of the article will provide access to the Report of the Senate Education Committee.
The report recommends SED take the following actions:
- Expedite federal waivers from mandates on various testing restrictions, including those for students with disabilities and English language learners
- Produce missing modules "immediately"
- Align assessments proportionately to the curriculum actually implemented
- Delay operation of the Education Data Portal for one year
- Increase funding for professional development
The report signals the following legislative actions to be taken:
- "P-2" bill to ban standardized testing in grades Pre-K through grade 2
- "Unnecessary Testing" bill to require the commissioner to expedite a review of APPR plans solely to eliminate unnecessary student assessments
- Privacy bill to strengthen protections of personal information stored on the statewide data portal, and to establish significant civil and criminal penalties for unauthorized disclosure, and create independent oversight within SED on matters related to poverty
- Truth-In-Testing bill to require the Commissioner to report on the effectiveness of common core state tests and require an independent audit to review and evaluate the common core testing program
SAANYS delivered testimony at the October 1 Senate Hearing that was held in Syracuse, New York. That testimony is posted and available on the SAANYS website. Following the hearings, on November 18, SAANYS Executive Director Kevin Casey, along with leaders from other educational organizations, met with Senator Flanagan to discuss the testimony delivered at the hearings and to suggest possible courses of action in regard to pre-k through grade 2 testing, personally identifiable student information, and implementation of the Regents reform agenda. The recommendations provided by SAANYS are available by clicking here.
We hope that you will find this information helpful. We will continue to keep you informed.
Jim Viola, director of government relations
