Legislation

June 13, 2019

Memorandum in Opposition to Legislation (A706-A and S5472-A) Permitting Home-Schooled Students to Participate in District Interscholastic Sports 

We oppose the proposed legislation to allow home-schooled children in New York State to participate in public school district interscholastic sports.  Current law requires students to be enrolled in three courses plus physical education to be eligible to represent their school in interscholastic sports.  Thus, public school students who participate in the school community every day will continue to be required to meet the Education Department’s eligibility standards while home-schooled students will not be held by the same standards.  This, we believe, is inherently unfair. In addition, if passed, the legislation could open the door to inclusion non-public and other private school students’ access to interscholastic programs.

Fair competition is a crucial factor in interscholastic sports that is currently based, and should remain based, on student enrollment.  If a school were to allow home-school students to participate in interscholastic sports that school would have an unfair advantage over neighboring schools.

Passage of this legislation would also mean that a small school with a high home-school population would be placed in a higher classification requiring them to compete with larger schools.  Because the State does not have an accurate account of how many home-schooled students are enrolled in any given district, it is impossible to predict how what the real impact of the legislation would be, and we do not recommend passage of any law without foreknowledge of its consequences.

This legislation would erode the integrity of the classification system. And potentially cause injury to students.

Keep the playing field level!  Oppose these bills proposing to allow home-schooled students to participate in district interscholastic sports. Contact your Assembly and Senate representatives to voice your concerns.

Tony Laurino
Legislative Liaison

June 4, 2019

CAS/ESSAA Administrator, Supervisors

Tenure legislation passes Senate

Yesterday our bill granting a three-year probationary period, not four, for administrators, supervisors, etc. who move from one district to another passed the Senate 55-0.  Assemblyman Mike Benedetto, Chair of Assembly Education Committee is expected to send a “same as” to the assembly within the next week.

Charter Schools

State Democrats are fighting the expansion and funding, in many areas, of Charter schools with four bills.

One bill would give a substantial number of community school districts in New York City a veto power to block the opening of any new Charter school within their borders.

A second measure would block Charter schools from expanding beyond the grade levels with which they started.

A third bill would prohibit Charter schools form using public funds to rent space in private buildings.

The fourth bill would boost oversight of Charter schools and make it easier for officials to shut them down.  Charter schools would also be required to enroll the same percentage of special-needs students as those in nearly traditional public schools.  Failure to do so would cost a Charter school its public funding.

Assemblyman Mike Benedetto introduced all bills after they were introduced in the Senate.

Governor Cuomo, with the assistance of the past Republican Senate, was able to raise the number of Charter schools in 2007 and 2010.  Early in this session the Governor said he would like to raise the number of Charter schools in New York State.  At this stage it seems very unlikely given the mood of both the Democratic Senate and Assembly.

Tony
Anthony C. Laurino
CAS Legislative Liaison

March 21, 2019

You may recall that last year CAS/ESSAA wrote legislation proposing tenured administrators, supervisors, etc. who move from one school district to another will be eligible for a three-year probationary period, not four. The bill passed both houses but was vetoed by the Governor in December.

This year our CAS/ESSAA legal staff and legislative aides rewrote the bill taking the Governor’s objections into consideration. Bob Ungar, our lobbyist, and I have met with Senator Shelly Mayer, Senate Education Committee Chairperson, to review and explain the bill. Senate Mayer put the bill before the Education Committee on Tuesday, March 5th where it was passed and sent to the Senate floor. We also met with Assemblyman Mike Benedetto, Assembly Education Chairperson, who will put the bill before his Committee. Either Assembly Chair Benedetto or Assemblyman Peter Abbate will sponsor the bill in the Assembly while Assemblyman Mike DenDekker has graciously agreed to co-sponsor it in the Assembly.

Before legislation is passed on to a Committee all organizations affected by the bill are given an opportunity to comment and make suggestions. Currently, we are working with NYSUT, NYSSBA, and NYSCSS to refine the wording of our bill. The minor suggestions to this point have in no way changed the substance of the law. Our attorneys are presently working with other labor groups to determine if they see the need for any add additional edits.

On this visit to Albany, our primary objective was to revise and resubmit the administrator tenure legislation. Also, Bob, who is in Albany every day the legislators are in session, has been stressing our stated concerns regarding the legalization of the recreational adult use of marijuana and advocating for limiting student access to e-cigarettes.

While both houses consider passing the tenure bill, we both will continue lobbying against legalizing marijuana and for establishing limits on e-cigarettes and flavored components.

Tony
Anthony C. Laurino
CAS Legislative Liaison

January 23, 2019

Meet Assemblyman Michael Benedetto, Chair of the Assembly Education Committee

(D) NY Assembly District 82, Bronx

Michael R. Benedetto was born in the Bronx in 1947 and has lived his entire life in Northeast Bronx. He attended local Catholic primary and secondary schools, and in 1969 he graduated from Iona College with a B. A. degree in History/Education. While a student at Iona College he served as President of the Student Council and was listed in Who’s Who in American Colleges. In 1971, he earned a M.A. in Social Studies/Education.

Assemblyman Benedetto spent his entire 35 years in teaching on the elementary and secondary school level. From 1969 to 1974 he taught at Our Lady of Assumption School in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx. In 1974 he joined the New York Public School system as a teacher of mentally and physically challenged children. In 1977 he was assigned to P.S. 160, The Walt Disney School, in Co-op City in the Bronx and in 1988 he became a coordinator of the special education unit. He remained at P.S. 160 for almost 28 years until being elected to the State Assembly in 2004.

While with the New York City schools, Assemblyman Benedetto ran the first “very special” Olympics for multiply handicapped children; became an “in-service” instructor, teaching other teachers about special education; and served as a member of local School District #11 Mainstreaming and SEALL training committees. The Assemblyman also worked as a mentor teacher and taught in his schools’ talented and gifted program.

Assemblyman Benedetto has received numerous awards for his achievements in education. In 1987, he received the New York Lung Association award for contributions to preventing children from smoking. In 1992 he received an award from the New York City adaptive physical education department for efforts on behalf of that program. In 1993 he received the FIAME (Federation of Italian-American Educators) Excellence in Teaching Award. He also received New York State and Congressional Citations applauding his teaching achievements. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) presented Mr. Benedetto with a citation for service to the cause of teacher unionism.

In addition to outstanding accomplishments in his career, he has made a huge impact on his community. For example, in 1969, Assemblyman Benedetto started the Throgs Neck Community Players community theater group and served as a member of Community Planning Board #10 from 1975-1979. In 1981 he started the Bronx Times Reporter newspaper which has become the largest community paper in the Bronx.

As a Legislator, Assemblyman Benedetto has focused on educational and child protection issues and has been an ardent supporter of union rights.

https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Michael-Benedetto                      benedettom@nyassembly.gov

District Office

3602 E. Tremont Ave.
Suite 201
Bronx, NY 10465
718-892-2235

(D, WF) NY Senate District 37, Westchester

Shelley Mayer has spent her career as an advocate for New Yorkers.She is an experienced and progressive leader. In an April 2018 Special Election, she was elected to the New York State Senate representing the 37th Senate District, which includes the Cities of Yonkers, White Plains, New Rochelle, and Rye; the Towns of Bedford, Eastchester, Harrison, Mamaroneck, North Castle, and Rye; and the Villages of Bronxville, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, Port Chester, Rye Brook, and Tuckahoe.  She was elected to the New York State Assembly in a special election on March 20, 2012 and subsequently re-elected November 2012, 2014, and 2016 from the 90th District (Yonkers).

Shelley previously served as Chief Counsel to the New York State Senate Democrats, where she helped lead the effort to expel the disgraced Hiram Monserrate and helped draft critical legislation to reform Albany and protect taxpayers.

Prior to her election to the Assembly, Shelley was a Senior Counsel at the National State Attorney General Program at Columbia Law School, where she focused on health care and labor law rights. For over seven years, she was Vice President of Government and Community Affairs at Continuum Health Partners, one of New York City’s largest teaching hospital systems, working to protect Medicaid and Medicare services and improving the relationship between New York City’s diverse communities and the hospital system.

From 1982 to 1994, Shelley was an Assistant Attorney General in the office of New York Attorney General Bob Abrams. She served in the Civil Rights Bureau, as Chief of the Westchester Regional Office, as the legislative liaison for the Attorney General and ultimately as a senior advisor to the Attorney General. As an Assistant Attorney General, Shelley fought to protect civil rights for New Yorkers and to broaden laws protecting consumers and tenants.

Shelley received a JD from SUNY Buffalo School of Law in 1979 and a Bachelor of Arts from UCLA in 1975. Shelley has been actively involved in the Yonkers community, serving as a member of the Yonkers NAACP, Yonkers YWCA, Westchester Women’s Bar Association, and Westchester Women’s Agenda. She is a member of the Yonkers Lawyers Association, New York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Shelley also previously served on the Board of the Jewish Council of Yonkers/Westchester Community Partners and the Yonkers Public Library. Shelley lives in Yonkers with her husband of 36 years, Lee Smith. Shelley and Lee have three adult children – Aaron, Julia, and Arthur Smith.

https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/shelley-mayer                                     smayer@nysenate.gov

District Office

222 Grace Church Street
Suite 300
Port Chester, NY 10573
Phone: 914-934-5250
Fax: 914-934-525

APPR Legislation:

Since the Governor’s budget address on Monday, our Legislative Liaison, Tony Laurino, and our CAS Lobbyist, Bob Ungar, have been working on two issues important to our members statewide. They are reporting that after years of lobbying for a fair education evaluation system we may be on the threshold of being heard.  APPR legislation has been introduced in both the Assembly and Senate to disengage state test scores from teacher evaluations.

Assembly Education Chair Michael Benedetto and Senate Education Chair Shelly Mayer have introduced same as bills S1262 and A783 which will eliminate the mandate that school districts use state test scores to evaluate teachers.  The bill will return the decision to school districts and collective bargaining.

Kristin Curran, Bob’s Legislative Aide, has just sent us a copy of the Assembly’s teacher evaluation bill that is on the Assembly calendar for Tuesday, January 22, 2019.

In summary, this Bill is “AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to state assessments and teacher evaluations; and to amend chapter 56 of the laws of 2014, amending the education law relating to providing that standardized test scores shall not be included on a student’s permanent record, in relation to making certain provisions permanent.”

CAS Principal Tenure:

The Governor vetoed our bill to grant administrators the same tenure rights as teachers when moving from one district to another.  We will engage our attorneys to make the necessary technical changes noted by the Governor’s veto.  These are simply technical and do not change the substance of the bill.  When the changes are complete, Assemblyman Peter Abbate will sponsor the bill and we will discuss the changes with Assemblyman Benedetto and Senator Mayer.

Toward this end, your CAS/PAC donations have been extremely helpful in fueling these bills in both the Assembly and Senate.

If you would like to make a donation to our CAS/PAC please click on this link.

January 8, 2019

Update on Tenure Bill

On June 12, 2018, we informed you that ESSAA/CAS’ “Jarema” credit bill had been passed by both houses of New York’s legislature and was before the Governor for approval.  The Bill is designed to shorten the tenure period from four years to three years for administrators who previously received tenure in their administrative position in another New York school district.  That protection has been in place for many years for teachers but does not apply to administrators.

Unfortunately, on December 21, 2018, Governor Cuomo vetoed the Bill.  The Governor’s objections appear to be based upon technical flaws in the Bill that can be addressed and corrected.  Therefore, our Legal team as well as our Lobbyist and Legislative Liaison are working to address the issues outlined in the Governor’s veto and plan on sponsoring revised legislation.  We are determined to deliver this protection to public school administrators in our State and will aggressively pursue a new Bill in the hope of having a law passed by the end of 2019.

We will keep you apprised of our continued efforts.

September 15, 2018

Dear CAS Member,

CAS/PAC is the lobbying arm of the Council of Administrators and Supervisors and the means by which we gain access to our elected officials.  It is a vital piece of our legislative program.

Over the summer, I along with our lobbyist Bob Ungar, met with several key legislators to share with them the frustrations, betrayal, and disappointment felt within the educational community. We explained to them that it has become quite obvious that it is now politically easier to attack educators than it is to attack the real issues facing our communities and schools.

This month, I will continue to meet with Assembly people and Senators to stress the need for legislative changes to APPR. Carl Heastie, the Speaker of the Assembly, has recently acknowledged the problems within our schools extend beyond the classroom.  Bob and I will discuss the reality that no evaluation system will ever improve our schools, unless and until, sweeping social welfare policies and programs are implemented.   For years, private sector forces have been pushing the naively simplistic and also financially self-serving position that our failing schools are a result of poor performing teachers and administrators who are protected by the unions. The absurdity behind this is glaring self-evident, in that it totally ignores all of the socioeconomic challenges facing these communities.

We need to be following these private sector groups throughout the halls of the Capital building and exposing the absurdity and financial corruption behind their arguments. However, it’s only through your CAS/PAC donations that we will able to gain access to meaningful meetings and dialogue with our legislators.   We must now more than ever have a presence in the hallways and offices of the Capital building, but unfortunately in our system of government access can only be obtained through your CAS/PAC donations.

To that end, I ask for $50 per member which translates to less than $2 a pay check with dues deduction. You may donate through our website at https://casliny.com/advocacy/donate-to-caspac/ or you may use CAS-PAC Payroll Deduction form and submit to your central office.

If you wish to donate by check, please send your check to our CAS/PAC office located at:

1300 Veterans Highway
Suite 330
Hauppauge, NY  11788
Thank you,
Tony Laurino
CAS Legislative Liaison