Teacher Evaluations Press Conference

(Albany, NY) Senator Todd Kaminsky, Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and Members of the Senate Democratic Conference called for the Senate Republican Majority to pass legislation, which is sponsored by a Republican Senator, that would decouple performance reviews from state aid.  Senator Kaminsky has been circulating a petition urging Majority Leader Flanagan to bring Senate Bill S.7632 to the floor for a vote that has been signed by all Senate Democrats.

Senator Todd Kaminsky said, “We must not allow politics to get in the way of fixing a wrong and doing the right thing for our children’s education. On Long Island alone, school districts risk being penalized $300 million. Taking action now will prevent our school districts from having crucial funding ripped away from them.  Democrats and Republicans alike support this legislation and there is no reason we can’t work together to pass it before the end of session.”

In a letter to Majority Leader Flanagan that accompanied the petition, Kaminsky highlighted that only 121 out of the over 700 school districts in the state have submitted evaluation plans. This fact proves that many schools are having difficulty meeting the Albany-mandated criteria, raising deep concerns that the impending deadline will negatively impact public students. The deadline for school district’s to submit their plans to the State Education Department is June 30^th.  School districts statewide risk losing $2 billion in fines.