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The SAANYS Government Relations Committee (GRC) convened for its fall meeting on November 14 and 15. On November 14, the Committee recommended the Association’s Legislative Agenda and Educational Leadership Political Action Committee (ELPAC) budget that will be presented to the Board of Directors for their approval in January. Based on discussions with the State Education Department and members of the State Legislature, some possible legislative issues for 2013 were discussed. These possible issues included the following:
- The compounded fiscal challenges faced by school districts due to statutorily fixed caps on state aide (projected to be approximately $600 million for 2013, down from $805 million for 2012) and property taxes
- Possible incentives or requirements to bring about school district consolidations, and/or new authorization procedures for the establishment of regional high schools
- Prekindergarten proposals to expand the operation of half-day programs, to promote the establishment of full-day programs, and/or to prioritize student enrollment in prekindergarten programs based of poverty status (free and reduced price lunch eligibility)
Discussion was also directed to legislative positions that may be asserted by SAANYS, such as the recommendation that an independent evaluation of the New York State annual professional performance review (APPR) system be conducted upon the completion of APPR procedures for the 2012-13 school year.
On November 15, the GRC met with representatives of the New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS). Information was presented regarding the different considerations and impacts of the various pension Tiers, with a special emphasis on Tier 5, which was short lived (January 1, 2010 to April 1, 2012), and includes approximately 20,000 members; and Tier 6, which was established less than a year ago and now includes over 3,300 members. Committee members also took the opportunity to describe the local impact of the Employer Contribution Rate (ECR) increase from 11.84 percent in the current school year to between 15.5 and 16.5 percent for 2013-14. NYSTRS representatives explained the “five-year rounding” methodology used to reduce large fluctuations on a year-to-year basis. Unfortunately, due to poor returns in the global capital markets in 2008-09 and data for the five year rounding period, it is likely that rates will rise again for the next succeeding year (2014-15), as the establishment of Tiers 5 and 6 will have no impact in reducing the ECR within this timeframe. Finally, SAANYS members discussed the composition of the NYSTRS Board, which currently does not include representation of a school level administrator. It is likely that SAANYS will include NYSTRS Board membership in discussions with state legislators during the upcoming session.
In finishing its work on November 15, committee members met with Kenneth Wagner, the State Education Department’s Associate Commissioner for Curriculum, Assessment and Technology. Early in this meeting, GRC members explained the deleterious educational impacts of Hurricane Sandy. Many schools were closed for a long period, and some remain closed. Attention is being directed to student housing and safety issues. All of this is expected to result in a very “uneven playing field” across the state in terms of student performance in schools that were and were not affected. The following information from the Associate Commissioner was noted:
For 2012-13, state assessments for grades 3 to 8 will be fully aligned with common core standards, but will continue to be administered in a paper-pencil format. In English language arts, student speaking and listening skills will no longer be assessed. All text passages will be longer and more “authentic,” and in some instances may express opinions with which the reader may disagree (e.g., Huck Finn). Mathematics test will include more rigorous multi-step questions. Calculator use will not be permitted in Book 1 of the tests for grades six to eight, but will be required for Books 2 and 3. Over the course of the current school year, SED plans to make available a full ELA and mathematics curriculum, from kindergarten through grade 12.
For 2013-14, algebra 1, geometry and English language arts will be common core aligned, beginning with the June administration.
For 2014-15, the Associate Commissioner indicated that whether or not the state assessments for grades 3 to 8 will be computer-based remains an “open issue.” Although New York State is a Governing State in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) consortium, the state Board of Regents has not acted to approve the administration of the PARCC assessments. Therefore, it is possible that two test formats may be available: computer-based and paper-pencil. Also, beginning in June of the school year, the algebra 2 assessment will be common core aligned.
In preparing for the transition to computer-based testing, New York State is using the Technology Readiness Tool that was developed by PARCC and Smarter Balanced to survey current technology capacity and infrastructure in each school building statewide. For local level planning for computer-based assessment at this time, the Associate Commissioner informed that tablets and carts will not be able to be used – laptops and desktops with internet capacity are recommended. In order to determine a school’s general level of capacity for computer-based testing, the school should determine how close it is to having one device for every student in the largest grade in the school.
The Associate Commissioner also informed the committee that from January to March 2013, the State Education Department will hold 28 professional development programs targeted to turn-key trainers in regard to common core standards. The professional development sessions will be held in 14 regional locations, delivering ELA and mathematics programs at each location.
For more information regarding the Government Relations Committee or the NYSTRS and SED meetings described in this article, contact James Viola, Director of Government Relations at JViola@saanys.org.
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