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2005 EDUCATION, HIGHER ED & JOB TRAINING LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM
Maintain strong support for the higher standards and graduation requirements.
Specifically support the requirement that students pass five Regents exams
(English Language Arts, Math, Science and two social studies) in order to received
a high school diploma.
- Require neighboring school districts to accept students from schools designated
as in need of improvement under the Federal No Child Left Behind law and
regulations. Federal State, and local Funds should follow the student to
the new school and district.No school should be required to accept more than
5 percent of its total enrollment for such transfers.
- Support the continuation and expansion of New York State's charter school
law.
- Support tax credits for parents who send their children to non-public schools.
- Support legislation to establish public private partnerships for higher
student achievement and workforce development.
- Support course work content flexibility so that students can achieve the
standards and graduation requirements with a career and technical education
concentration should they opt to do so.
- Support measures that enable schools to provide extra help to students
struggling to meet the standards including extending the school day and/or
school year, providing extra time or help after school or in summer school,
and providing professional development for teachers.
- Continue to support widespread dissemination of school report cards. Note:
New York State (as of January 1997) produces school report cards on every
public school building in the state. These report cards are available from
local school district offices, and also through the state education department
web site: http://www.nysed.gov
- Support changes in special education reimbursement methodology to remove
any monetary incentive there may be with regard to the placement or labeling
of students.
- Support the use of technology to improve instruction, to ensure that our
children are technologically literate, to offer a wider range of courses
through on-line learning, and to streamline administrative and management
functions.
- Support the elimination of mandates:
- that experience shows adversely affect the order, safety, and optimal
functioning of schools;
- that add to the costs of school construction such as the Wicks law;
- that hamper school governance and that result in restrictive work rules
that, raise costs without improving results and are barriers to improving
student achievement (such as the Triborough amendment).
- Support increased management flexibility to ensure that schools have high
quality teachers, principals and administrators through pay related to performance
and the reform of tenure, and repeal of the Triborough provision and any
other such impediments to school improvement.
- Support the creation of an incentive and reward system for teachers and
schools where substantial increases in student achievement have been made
and/or are sustained.
- Support the provision of early childhood education programs to all children
from low income families.
- Support measures that improve equity in the school aid formula.New York
State currently is among the top three states in highest per pupil expenditure
in the country, yet the wealth and ability of school districts to support
schools varies widely.
HIGHER EDUCATION
- Support a multi-year, multi-million dollar commitment to fund investments
in technology with universities and businesses that enter into partnerships
around micro/nanotechnology, photonics and information technology and genomics
and biotechnology.
- Support predictable tuition increases in SUNY and CUNY senior and community
colleges that don't exceed the Consumer Price Index.
- Support enabling SUNY and CUNY to charge differential tuition between campuses
and/or programs.
- SUNY and CUNY campuses should be allowed to use any tuition increase revenues
to continue their efforts to raise quality standards.
- Support restoration of unrestricted aid to independent colleges and universities
(commonly known as Bundy Aid) and continued improvements and funding enhancements
in the Tuition Assistance Program.Part of any tuition increases should also
be devoted to offset the higher tuition costs for needy students.
- Support merit scholarships and any expansion of such scholarships.
JOB TRAINING
- Support additional state dollars and directing federal training dollars
for incumbent worker training through employer consortium training programs.
- Support increased funding for community colleges to provide employer-specific
training to individual employers on a contract course basis.
- Support individual training vouchers, based on income and circumstances,
for individuals choosing short term non-degree training programs.
- Support expansion of the EPE (Employment Preparation Program) aid for adults
who lack the basic skills needed to be successful in the job market. Allow
employers to access such funds for on site GED programs. Support providing
more basic skills training in the workplace.
- Support programs that provide teachers, guidance counselors and other educators
with more information about employer's skill requirements and expectations.
- Support requiring the state to approve qualified unilateral apprentice
programs even where the employer is a participant in a Joint Apprenticeship
Training Committee.
- Support year-round youth programming that is focused on the exploration
of high demand career opportunities and that help youth meet the state's
academic standards.
- Support the utilization of federal training and TANIF funds to enable employers
to hire and "tryout" persons who have a history of multiple barriers to employment
that they have overcome.
TO VIEW THE BUSINESS COUNCIL'S COMPLETE LEGISLATIVE
PROGRAM CLICK HERE
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