Legislative & Political Updates
Don't know who your representative is?
Click here to find out!
1/5/2011
Alliance for Quality Education Responds
to Gov. Cuomo's 2011 State of the State Address
Statement from Billy Easton, AQE Executive Director:
“We support the governor's call for administrative consolidation to save money in schools because our priority must be to protect and improve the quality of our children's education. It is refreshing to hear that he plans to invest $250 million in school improvement, but he will not succeed in improving schools if he proposes a slash and burn education budget next month. As Governor Cuomo said, our colleges and universities must be engines for economic growth, but to make this happen we must increase, not cut, the number of students who graduate high school ready for college and careers.”
August 30, 2010
AQE HAND DELIVERS LETTER TO U.S. EDUCATION SECRETARY ARNE DUNCAN TO TAKE ACTION
“It is a great day for school funding in New York when the U.S. Secretary of Education delivers $700 million to our State Education Department, but now we need to make certain the money is invested in research-backed best practices,” said Billy Easton, Executive Director, Alliance for Quality Education. “Study after study shows that parent and community participation and support for school reform are essential to successfully improving low-performing schools. Unfortunately, policy makers too often have a habit of calling for parent involvement, but a practice of doing nothing to help parents get involved. Right now New York State has no policy to encourage or require parent involvement in decision-making about improving low performing schools despite all the research that shows the critical importance of parents to successful school reform. Today is an opportunity for the State Education Department to take immediate action to ensure parents have a seat at the table, we are asking Secretary Duncan to make certain this happens.” Click HERE to read the letter. Click HERE for full release.
August 24, 2010
AQE RESPONDS TO RTTT ANOUNCEMENT
“The $700 million in Race to the Top funding is absolutely essential for New York’s school children who depend on all of us to provide them with the opportunity to learn and excel in the 21st Century. This funding is particularly important because the 2010 state budget cut $1.4 billion from our schools--the largest cut to the quality of our children’s education in the state’s history. The federal Race to the Top funding is intended for innovative reform, but it will be extraordinarily difficult to accomplish meaningful reforms if the state continues to make dramatic cuts to education like it made this year,” said Billy Easton, Alliance for Quality Education, Executive Director.
July 22, 2010
AQE AND PUBLIC ADVOCATE DE BLASIO RELEASE REPORT: DOE FAILS TO EVALUATE IMPACT OF SCHOOL CLOSINGS AND CO-LOCATIONS ON CHILDREN'S EDUCATION
Problems Found in Schools Closings also Experienced in the Co-Location Process, Report Finds
Click HERE for the REPORT - Click HERE for the RELEASE Click HERE for the VIDEO
"This report demonstrates why educational impacts must be the centerpiece in making decisions about school closings and co-locations. The Chancellor's ongoing assertion that DOE's shortcomings in these decisions were strictly 'procedural' is not reality based-the DOE simply did not do the required analysis of the educational impacts," said Billy Easton, Executive Director of the Alliance for Quality Education. "The parent survey offers valuable insights into how to improve the process-answering parents' questions in public meetings would be a good start."
June 29, 2010
Education Advocates Respond to Governor’s Education Budget Veto
Statement of Billy Easton, Executive Director, Alliance for Quality Education:
“As a senator, David Paterson was a champion of public education, but as governor he has repeatedly sought to slash school funding. If his veto stands, David Paterson will leave a legacy as an anti-education governor. The Legislature's proposed education budget would restore a portion of the governors $1.4 billion cut and would mean fewer students will lose teachers and programs, but the Governor’s veto threatens to take every penny possible from our school children.
In 2010, the Assembly has been the primary force standing up for all of our public school children and insisting that any restorations in school aid be available for educating students. The Senate has been a house divided, some Senators supported restoring some of the cuts to all of our classrooms, others specifically sought to block these funds from reaching the classroom. The result was the Legislature's compromise that restores a percentage of teachers and programs that have been cut in high need districts while blocking these funds from reaching classrooms in other districts. In high needs school districts across the state this compromise budget offers a critical margin of protection to the quality of education. The Governor's veto, if it stands, will hurt the neediest students in the state the most.”
Click HERE for the entire release.
Education Advocates Respond to Governor’s Education Budget Veto
May 25, 2010
AQE, NYSUT and UFT begin leafleting this week in districts across the state calling for restorations to the pending $1.4 billion school aid cut - the largest cut in the history of New York State. Click HERE to see an example of one of the many mailers being distibuted.
May 3, 2010
The Alliance for Quality Education OPPOSES bill S7678 which lifts the charter school cap without important reforms needed to provide public accountability and transparency. Click HERE to find out more.
April 29, 2010
Office of the Public Advocate and the Alliance for Quality Education Release Survey for NYC Parents at Schools Affected by Closure, Co-Location and Re-Siting
The New York City Public Advocate and the Alliance for Quality Education today launched a survey to obtain input from parents of children whose schools were slated for closure, co-location and re-siting during the 2009-10 school year. The joint effort is intended to assess how well parents were engaged and informed during the decision-making process regarding these closures and changes in school utilization.
The survey is available in English HERE and Spanish HERE
April 28, 2010
AQE Delivers over 6600 Handwritten Letters to Senators Calling for Wall Street Tax to Prevent $1.4 Billion in School Aid Cuts
Parents, Students & Taxpayers Read their Letters Before Delivering Three Wagons Full of Letters to Senators. Click HERE for the release.
April 12, 2010
AQE launches campaign HERE
The Senate and Assembly voted for $1.4 billion and $800 million in school aid cuts, respectively. These cuts would hurt our children and pass the bill on to property tax payers.
There is a fairer way. Wall Street is enjoying record bonuses and profits, they should help our public school children. Click HERE to tell your senate and assembly member make Wall Street give its share. Tell them to protect our kids NOT bankers and hedge fund managers.
March 26, 2010
Court Order Overturns Closure of 19 Schools in New York City
Judge rules DOE failed to follow the law and did not meaningfully consider educational impacts of school closures
Today the Supreme Court of New York County overturned the New York City Department of Education's decision to close 19 schools across New York City.
"The NYC DOE made no meaningful effort to demonstrate how closing these schools would benefit students or what the educational impact would be. The Judge upheld the law which requires that the educational impacts must be at the center of school closing decisions," said Zakiyah Ansari, NYC Organizer, Alliance for Quality Education, a petitioner in the lawsuit.
For the entire press release click HERE
March 18, 2010
Press Statement by Billy Easton, Executive Director of the Alliance for Quality Education in Response to the Property Tax Cap bill S6212A Sponsored by Senator Jeff Klein
"The Alliance for Quality Education opposes bill S6212/A9428 which introduces a property tax cap. While we applaud the attempt to provide property tax relief to New Yorkers, a property tax cap will severely hurt the quality of public education.
Property tax caps hurt our schools. In recent years, the state has taken steps in providing additional funding to make up for years of underfunding through the statewide settlement of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. New York’s schoolchildren are making progress. A property tax cap will only reduce the resources available to schools and will reverse progress, widen the student achievement gap and will increase the racial achievement gap. Every child deserves and has a right to a quality education. Every New Yorker deserves real property tax relief. The proposed legislation does a disservice to both. The greatest danger that could increase property taxes would be any cuts in state aid to schools."
March 4, 2010
Parents and Educators Reject $1.4 Billion Education Cut Proposal At 18 Simultaneous Statewide Events
A coalition of education groups has called on the state Legislature to reject proposed cuts to school aid, saying the reduced funding will lead to a reduction in educational quality and massive layoffs.
In 18 simultaneous press conferences across New York State, parents, students, teachers, school board members, superintendents and other officials outlined the devastating effects of Gov. David Paterson’s $1.4 billion cut to education spending. The groups also identified a number of cost saving measures that state lawmakers in Albany could enact this year to help save districts money.
Click HERE for the Full Release
February 25, 2010
Analysis of the Proposed Executive Budget Cuts to Education with a Set of Alternatives to these Cuts
Campaign Update
1/25/10 FIX OUR SCHOOLS DON’T ABANDON THEM - VIDEO
“The PEP should stop ignoring parents and refuse to rubber stamp these school closings—don’t abandon our schools, fix them!” said Shana Marks-Odinga. “Shutting down these schools without proposing a turnaround plan is totally backwards. There is $4 million in federal funds that could be used to turnaround eight of these schools, but the DOE has offered no plan to turn any of them around. And twelve schools are not even on the state’s list, so why is it that the DOE wants to shut them down? We are entitled to real answers and a real plan to fix all of these schools, not abandon them.”
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL RELEASE
(March 30, 2009) AQE & CFE Issue Letter to Hon. Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, Regarding NYS Usage of Stimulus Education Dollars
Click HERE to read the letter
Click HERE to read media coverage
(February 11, 2009) AQE Releases Statewide Fiscal Impact Analysis of the Governor's $2.5b Education Budget Cut
“From the Southern Tier to the North Country and from
(January 7, 2009) AQE Responds to 2009 State of State
“Governor Paterson hit the right message when he said that we must protect our school children, unfortunately there is a total disconnect between this speech and his budget that takes $2.5 billion out of our schools,” said
