CURRAN HIGHLIGHTS ELIMINATION OF GEA IN NEW EDUCATION PROPOSAL

Assemblyman Brian Curran (Lynbrook – 21st A.D.) joined his Assembly Republican colleagues, some school officials, and the New York State Allies for Public Education advocacy group today in Albany with the presentation of their plan, The Next Step, for the direction of education in New York State. The proposal, sponsored by Assembly Education Committee Ranking Member Assemblyman Ed Ra and Curran, highlights many of New York’s most pressing education issues, including the Common Core Learning Standards and the elimination of the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) in this year’s state budget.

“Ever since the implementation of Common Core in New York State, our students, teachers, and schools have been in disarray,” said Curran. “Many of the proposals coming from the governor’s task forces are recommendations that my Republican colleagues and I highlighted in our APPLE Plan (Achieving Pupil Preparedness & Launching Excellence) a few years ago. Make no mistake, the starting point for change doesn’t start with the conclusion of the governor’s task forces, it’s retroactive to the point when he and the Assembly Democrats unfairly pushed a rushed Common Core curriculum onto our students, teachers and schools. Today’s plan highlights our next steps for education in New York State.”

The plan that was discussed at the press conference, dubbed The Next Step, highlighted the following:

· Eliminating the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) and delineating a definitive plan for the full phase-in of Foundation Aid;

· Repealing the current teacher evaluation system and empowering 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;

· Creating new state learning standards with the help and guidance of teachers, school administrators, parents, and education experts;

· Ensuring all state assessments are age/developmentally appropriate and of the highest quality;

· Increasing 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

· Providing 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, making sure Long Island schools receive their fair share of education aid, and stopping Common Core will certainly be something I will advocate for that is included in this year’s state budget,” said Curran. “We need better representation of our students and teachers in Albany, something Assembly Democrats and this governor have failed at.”

Curran noted that since its implementation, he and his Republican Conference colleagues have spearheaded reform efforts to end Common Core and amend its failed rollout, which has desperately impacted the educational experience of our children and teachers in New York State. Last year, Curran supported legislation that would have undone the bad policies pushed on budget night by the governor and Assembly Democrats. In fact, they doubled-down on Common Core at the end of April, in 2015, when they held Republican legislation in committee that would have stopped the curriculum and protected students and schools wishing to opt out of testing.

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