Schools

Education Reform Legislation Approved By Senate Education Committee

Senator Flanagan will send four different pieces of legislation to the Senate that might impact the way Common Core and other mandatory standards are being handled in school districts.

Senator Flanagan created an educational committee after parents, teachers, and residents raised serious concerns over the Common Core standards and other unfunded mandates being implemented from Albany.

Flanagan held forums all over the state to hear first hand how it is effect teachers and students. Shortly after a forum he put together the committee, which Flanagan said was designed to read through all of the data and testimony that was collected over the hearings. The committee had to sift through over thirty hours of testimony, 115 witnesses and close to 1000 pages of written testimony.

According to a statement, Flanagan said he plans on sending four different pieces of legislation that will sent to full Senate for further consideration and
discussion. Those four items include:

  • “P-2” Bill (S.6008) – which would ban standardized testing on students in Pre-K through 2nd grade;
  • “Unnecessary Testing” Bill (S.6006) – which would require the Commissioner of Education to conduct an expedited review of a school district's APPR plan when it is resubmitted solely to eliminate unnecessary student assessments;
  • Privacy Bill (S.6007) – which would strengthen protections of personal information stored on the state-wide data portal, establish significant civil and criminal penalties for unauthorized disclosure of personal information and create independent oversight within SED on matters related to privacy; and
  • “Truth-In-Testing” Bill (S.6009) – would require the Commissioner of Education to report on the effectiveness of common core tests and require an independent audit to review and evaluate the common core testing program.

“Our state’s most basic obligation is to provide every student with the resources they deserve to achieve academic success and the Committee’s passage of this legislation is an important step in addressing the serious concerns raised at the hearings. Just as the hearings provided a robust and thoughtful dialogue regarding the issues related to the implementation of the State’s new learning standards, it is time for a similarly constructive discussion in the Legislature to make the changes our students, parents and teachers need,” said Flanagan in a statement.  

“At the end of the day, every parent wants the same thing for their children – a quality education - and it should always be the State's number one priority to provide the necessary support for achieving that goal.”

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