Statement from Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci (R,C,WF,I-Huntington Station)
As a former school board member, I believe today we took a number of positive steps for our community, especially in the area of education. I was particularly proud to support increasing education aid by $1.12 billion. This brings the state’s total investment in education to $21.8 billion. Investing in our children and securing them a quality education is among the most important parts of our budget.
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I was pleased to see reforms to the Common Core Standards included in the budget. I hope these changes will bring much-needed relief to our students, parents and educators. By prohibiting school districts from making placement decisions for students based solely on their performance on the state-administered tests, we are acknowledging that some students progress at different rates than others. I am also delighted to see that students in grades three through eight will no longer have their scores from Common Core testing appear on their official transcripts. Finally, the protection of students’ personal information was one of the most critical issues I heard from parents. Taking action to protect this data is welcome news for me and parents across the state.
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This year’s budget also provides strong support for higher education, an area particularly important to me. We invested $1.3 million into SUNY Opportunity Programs, which help less fortunate students achieve their dreams of a college education. In addition, this year’s budget includes expansion of the Tuition Assistance Program, increasing support for this program by $16.3 million. Finally, increasing the base aid for community college students will help our local students take advantage of the tremendous resources available in our community.
Finally, the budget offered strong support for seniors in our community. This year, eligibility for the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) was increased. Under the new provisions, prescription drug assistance will be expanded to include seniors making between $35,000- $75,000 for single individuals and for married couples with an income between $50,000- $100,000 in our community.
