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Teachers union takes credit for beating back Cuomo proposals

Karen DeWitt
/
WRVO News
Teachers rallied against Gov. Andrew Cuomo's education reform proposals at the Capitol earlier this month.

Even before the final details of the education changes in the budget are revealed, teachers’ unions are already claiming partial victory in their war of words with Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The president of New York State United Teachers, Karen Magee, says her group and the state legislature has beaten back what she calls the worst of Cuomo’s agenda. The governor sought new teacher performance reviews that would rely more heavily on standardized testing. In the end, the state Education Department will device new teacher evaluation criteria. And education aid will increase by over one and a half billion dollars.

Magee says the governor’s effort to “try to bully changes in education” has been pushed back.

Cuomo has won approval of a plan to put failing schools in receivership, though the schools may have a year to turn things around.

Magee says the union will also be taking steps to convince parents that their children should opt out of standardized tests associated with the controversial Common Core standards.

“To say that these tests indicate what students have learned, is similar to blaming your dentist for cavities,” said Magee. “It makes no sense, there’s no connection.”

Karen DeWitt is Capitol Bureau Chief for New York State Public Radio, a network of 10 public radio stations in New York State. She has covered state government and politics for the network since 1990.