Bay Ridge

Assembly’s GOP members want repeal of Common Core

February 4, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Members of the Assembly’s Republican Conference discuss their education reform proposals. Photo courtesy Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis
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Taking the election of new Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie as a sign of a fresh start, members of the assembly’s Republican minority are renewing their calls for major reforms in the state’s education system.

Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis (R-C-Bay Ridge-Staten Island) was among the members of the Assembly’s Republican Conference speaking out in Albany on Tuesday, the same day Heastie (D-Bronx) was elected by his colleagues to become assembly speaker and replace former speaker Sheldon Silver. Silver resigned from his post after being arrested on corruption charges.

Silver had not taken action on education reform suggestions from Republicans, but the GOP is apparently hoping to have better luck with Speaker Heastie.

The Republicans announced that they are re-introducing their plan called Achieving Pupil Preparedness & Launching Excellence (APPLE) to revamp the education system.

Chief among the GOP’s demands: a repeal of Common Core, the controversial education plan that sets standards students are supposed to reach. Under Common Core, students must reach a certain level in English and mathematics by the end of each grade. Students are tested to determine their level of ability. The goal is to ensure that by the time they graduate high school, students are ready for college.

But the constant testing and focus on test scores has zapped education of any spontaneity, according to Common Core detractors, who said the program has led to exhausted teachers and stressed out students.

“It’s too much of a cookie-cutter approach and it doesn’t work,” Malliotakis told the Brooklyn Eagle on Wednesday. “We must repeal Common Core completely or at minimum, make sweeping changes to it.”

“Common Core standards have brought drastic changes to our classrooms that have caused a great deal of stress for our children and educators. It needs to be fixed,” said Assemblymember Al Graf (R-C-Holbrook), a member of the Assembly Education Committee. “Educating our children and providing teachers and students the opportunity to succeed in the classroom is the most important thing we can do.”

Malliotakis is a co-sponsor of Assembly Bill 3656, which would create a Blue Ribbon Commission, a panel of education experts who would hold hearings and make recommendations regarding education in the state. The commission would also have the ability to create a new set of educational standards for New York.

“Last year, we pushed and pushed and pushed and got some reforms. This year, we are pushing for more,” Malliotakis told the Eagle.

“To ensure that we are providing a world-class education for our children, we must start at the root of the problem and halt the implementation of Common Core. My colleagues and I are encouraging the new leadership of both the state assembly and the education department to take a serious look at our proposal and move forward with measures that will allow our students and teachers to succeed,” said Assemblymember Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square), the ranking minority member on the Education Committee.

The APPLE plan seeks to address issues such as curriculum, teacher support, funding, student anxiety, special education and data collection, the GOP lawmakers said.

The proposals include: 

  • Stopping the implementation of the Common Core;
  • Providing funding for professional development;
  • Reducing the over-reliance on student testing;
  • Requiring that parents must consent to any disclosure of student information to a third party.
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