De-Mystifying Test Mania

By Howard J. Goldsmith - The recent administration of the New York State grades 3 - 8 English language arts (ELA) and mathematics assessments created tremendous confusion, parent uproar, and lots of press expressing frustration from all factions within the pro and anti-testing movements…

Strange Bedfellows – How the Commissioner’s Edict on “Quiet Agreements” Aligned Teachers’ Unions and School Districts

By Edward A. Trevvett - The New York State Education Department has managed to create quite a hullabaloo with its April 26, 2013 memo to school district and BOCES superintendents…

NYC’s Paid Sick Leave Bill Could Have Statewide Ripple Effect

By Anita W. Laremont and James E. Beyer - While employers, particularly municipalities and school districts, are getting ready for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to take effect next year, some municipalities, at the urging of coalitions supported by organized labor and other pro-labor groups, are taking their own measures to mandate that employers provide select employment benefits…

Revised 2013-14 School Aid Budget Allocations – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

By Shannon Buffum - The overall enacted school aid runs were significantly higher than the district-by-district aid runs proposed in the 2013-14 Executive Budget…

Criticism Louder than Praise for 2013-14 State Budget’s Pension Smoothing Plan

By James E. Beyer - New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s revised pension smoothing plan for local governments and school districts will be included in the final 2013-14 state budget, according to multiple news outlets…

State Budget Addresses Teacher Evaluation Plans

By Howard J. Goldsmith - After a marathon session in the Assembly on Thursday and prior approval by the Senate during a late night session on Tuesday, the New York State 2013-2014 budget is expected to be signed by Governor Cuomo prior to the start of the new fiscal year on April 1, resulting in the third consecutive year of early budgets…