Monday, May 4, 2015

In Non-Skelos Related News, Assembly, Senate Ed Chairs Propose Changes To Education Policy

Jessica Bakeman at Capital NY:

ALBANY—The chairs of the Legislature’s education committees have introduced legislation that would make significant changes to the state’s education law and policies, including amending how the Board of Regents is elected and requiring education officials to revisit their decision to adopt the Common Core standards.

The bipartisan legislation, sponsored by Senator John Flanagan, a Long Island Republican, and Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan, a Queens Democrat, would also delay implementation of a new teacher evaluation system that was included in the recent state budget.

Further, the bill would require education officials to investigate the quality of state-administered standardized testing and release more questions and answers from the exams. The legislation includes an immediate $8.4 million allocation for the department to aid the release of the test information.

Read Bakeman's piece for all the details.

Some of these changes their proposing seem significant, some seem like windowdressing.

In any case, given the tumult in Albany over the Skelos arrest, the succession race to replace him, and the rumors that swirl about fed wiretaps and/or future corruption indictments, it's difficult to see how something like this makes it through.

5 comments:

  1. This deal shows once again how completely useless Cathy Nolan really is. This deal is all about helping John Flanagan save face. Nolan is pathetic. Why in the world would she surrender the Assembly's ability to select members of the Board of Regents? It's obvious that Flanagan/Skelos will try to save Merryl Tisch if Carl Heastie is dumb enough to allow this proposal to actually become law. The deal also does nothing to correct the evaluation disaster. All in all it is a laughable attempt to give cover to those that should pay at the ballot box for their dirty deeds.

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  2. "The bill also delays the deadline by which districts are required to comply with the new system. The new deadline under the bill would be Dec. 15, rather than Nov. 15." Wow....one month more? That doesn't seem like much of a change. And, this is the best these people can come up with?
    -John Ogozalek

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  3. This mess is really interesting on a lot of levels.

    It doesn't show that Carl Heastie (see above) is 'dumb.' It means he has no control over the Assembly at all if one of 'his' chairs thinks she can negotiate a bill like this with the Republicans on her own. Some other of the Assembly dukes or duchesses--probably Deborah Glick, Duchess (er, Chair) of Higher Education Committee will put a torch to this thing.

    They must really think that parents and teachers, but let's give credit where it's due--parents, are dumb enough to take a skanky bone like this : ONE month delay in guidelines, a comment period, some nice changes to state tests funded for ONE year and a review of CC by the creator of CC, itself, NYSED.

    I guess they thought no one was looking and might get away with it.

    Asides from a butchering by the aristocracy that now apparently controls the Assembly the whole thing would be vetoed by the King if it ever got put on his desk.

    Oy, what cretins run our Legislature and control education policy in our state.

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    Replies
    1. Read what I wrote: If Heastie is dumb enough to go along with the proposal and bring it to the floor and pass it, Flanagan/Cuomo will try to save charter school loving/teacher hating/test happy Merryl Tisch.

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    2. We agree...just taking different views of the situation.

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