Senate Bonacic Announces the Passage of Bill 2031A Which Reforms the Board of Regents Selection Process

New, more equitable process would distribute appointments among Governor, Senate and Assembly 

State Senator John J. Bonacic (R/C/I- Mt. Hope) is pleased to announce that the New York State Senate passed legislation that would dramatically reform the selection process for the State Board of Regents to better reflect the population of the entire state.

The existing election process for selecting Regents board members required confirmation by a majority vote of all 213 members of the Legislature, ultimately giving the Assembly’s Democrat majority full control over the process.  Under the new bill, the appointment of the 17 regents would take place as follows:

·         Eight to be chosen by the Governor

·       Three by the Majority Leader of the Senate

·         Three by the Speaker of the Assembly

·         One each by the Minority Leaders of the Senate and Assembly

·         One appointment to be selected on a rotating basis by the Governor, Majority Leader and Speaker

In a statement recently released by Senator Bonacic, “The incumbent Regents have performed poorly with the Common Core roll out, and ultimately failed the parents and students of New York.  As such, I did not vote for the incumbent members of the Board of Regents. A better process will produce a better outcome.  We will explore a number of ways to change how Regents are selected.  Having the Assembly perennially control this process is wrong for New York.”           

Of the bill’s passage, Senator Bonacic said, “This makes the selection of regents more open and inclusive. It opens up Regents membership to more worthy candidates by giving appointment authority to the Governor and the majority and the minority leaders of the Senate and the Assembly.  I am pleased to have been a part of this most needed change to a process that was not working for parents, teachers, school administrators and most importantly, our children.”

The bill is now before the Assembly for consideration.

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