Schools
Assemblyman Poised to Introduce Common Core Repeal Bill
Assemblyman Al Graf joined 24 other state lawmakers in writing bill to withdraw New York from the Common Core Curriculum and national Race To The Top initiative.
Story by Matthew McGevna
On Tuesday morning, New York State Assemblyman Al Graf's Holbrook office will be headquarters for a press event introducing a bill that would withdraw New York public schools from its involvement in the Common Core Curriculum.
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The bill, numbered A07994, would also withdraw New York from the national Race to the Top initiative, which many critics say is the backbone of the Common Core, a recently adopted set of national educational standards that not only address student learning objectives, but institute curriculum guidelines.
Sparked initially by the Facebook group "Parents and Teachers Against the Common Core," Tuesday's press conference will feature local parents, such as Sara Wottawa, a Sachem parent and administrator of the Facebook group, and Assemblyman Graf's aide Doug Smith, also a Sachem alum. Smith will be speaking on behalf of Assemblyman Graf, who is finishing out the last few days of legislative sessions in Albany. Parents and Teachers Against the Common Core has more than 2,200 followers and the group's administrators were personally involved in drafting the new proposed legislation being introduced.
"If you're a teacher you’re going to support this bill, if you’re a parent, you’re gonna support this bill. If you're a concerned citizen you’re gonna support this bill," said Jeanine Cozzetti, another administrator of the Facebook page. "The press conference is going to be straight from the horse's mouth on why we need to withdraw from Common Core and Race to the Top. It’s not just standards, it’s not just a test, it’s not just data-mining."
Cozzetti said she initially got interested in the latest education reforms when she learned about "Opting Out" of standardized tests. While she admitted she was skeptical of opting out at first, her research led her to this fight against the Common Core. Some of the issues with the Common Core is the idea that a nationalized standard removes control over content from local districts, the standards' "one size fits all" approach to learning and the cost to local districts in instituting Common Core, among others.
Now that fight has been put to ink and co-signed by 24 other state lawmakers in the Assembly, including Andrew Garbarino (Bayport) and Andrew Raia (Northport). For Cozzetti and the group, the challenge now is to get an identical bill drafted for the Senate. To that end, they have organized a blitz campaign pushing Senators Lee Zeldin and Phil Boyle to lead the charge.
Harvey Weisenberg, D-Long Beach, was not among the assemblyman who signed the bill. He told Patch on Monday that the bill never crossed his desk. "From what I understand they introduced the bill yesterday but they never circulated it, so I can't respond to a bill that I never saw,' said Weisenberg, who noted that the assemblymen who signed the bill were all Republicans.
Long Beach Superintendent David Weiss did not respond to a request for comment about the bill.
Whether or not the bill can pass in either house and get signed by Governor Cuomo remains a matter of confident hope for Cozzetti.
"My goal has been to draft a bill and a lot of people have said it’ll never be done in New York," Cozzetti said. "But I have to be on the 'We The People" side. I believe we can do it, because we have driven parents and driven teachers."
Sparked initially by the Facebook group "Parents and Teachers Against the Common Core," Tuesday's press conference will feature local parents, such as Sara Wottawa, a Sachem parent and administrator of the Facebook group, and Assemblyman Graf's aide Doug Smith, also a Sachem alum. Smith will be speaking on behalf of Assemblyman Graf, who is finishing out the last few days of legislative sessions in Albany. Parents and Teachers Against the Common Core has more than 2,200 followers and the group's administrators were personally involved in drafting the new proposed legislation being introduced.
"If you're a teacher you’re going to support this bill, if you’re a parent, you’re gonna support this bill. If you're a concerned citizen you’re gonna support this bill," said Jeanine Cozzetti, another administrator of the Facebook page. "The press conference is going to be straight from the horse's mouth on why we need to withdraw from Common Core and Race to the Top. It’s not just standards, it’s not just a test, it’s not just data-mining."
Cozzetti said she initially got interested in the latest education reforms when she learned about "Opting Out" of standardized tests. While she admitted she was skeptical of opting out at first, her research led her to this fight against the Common Core. Some of the issues with the Common Core is the idea that a nationalized standard removes control over content from local districts, the standards' "one size fits all" approach to learning and the cost to local districts in instituting Common Core, among others.
Now that fight has been put to ink and co-signed by 24 other state lawmakers in the Assembly, including Andrew Garbarino (Bayport) and Andrew Raia (Northport). For Cozzetti and the group, the challenge now is to get an identical bill drafted for the Senate. To that end, they have organized a blitz campaign pushing Senators Lee Zeldin and Phil Boyle to lead the charge.
Harvey Weisenberg, D-Long Beach, was not among the assemblyman who signed the bill. He told Patch on Monday that the bill never crossed his desk. "From what I understand they introduced the bill yesterday but they never circulated it, so I can't respond to a bill that I never saw,' said Weisenberg, who noted that the assemblymen who signed the bill were all Republicans.
Long Beach Superintendent David Weiss did not respond to a request for comment about the bill.
Whether or not the bill can pass in either house and get signed by Governor Cuomo remains a matter of confident hope for Cozzetti.
"My goal has been to draft a bill and a lot of people have said it’ll never be done in New York," Cozzetti said. "But I have to be on the 'We The People" side. I believe we can do it, because we have driven parents and driven teachers."
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