Statement from Senator Flanagan Regarding Governor Cuomo's Budget Address

It was encouraging to hear Governor Cuomo publicly discuss taking action on issues that were repeatedly raised by concerned parents and teachers at the recent hearings held by the Senate Education Committee throughout New York State.  Specifically, his support of a ban on standardized testing, which is aligned with legislation I sponsored in December, and his support of a full examination of the implementation of new learning standards is a clear sign to our parents and teachers that their voices are being heard.

While Governor Cuomo’s first public statements in addressing these issues are welcomed, it is important that our state begin to take action to address concerns that were raised during the hearings.  Many of these topics were not addressed in today’s speech including reviewing our state’s testing policy, protecting the privacy of personal student data and providing real answers to parents on the effectiveness of the Common Core tests.

I have introduced legislation to make changes in these three areas and look forward to working with Governor Cuomo, my legislative colleagues and state education officials to act on these and other important issues affecting our school-aged children.  We firmly believe that action now is better than action later.