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2006 EDUCATION
AND JOB TRAINING LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM
Following is The Business Council's 2006 Legislative Program.
It identifies priority issues to be addressed by the Committees
and Councils during 2006.
- Continue to support high standards and the Regents graduation
requirements and oppose any legislation that would undermine
them.
- Support the establishment of a Math and Science
scholarship program to fund up to 500 competitive scholarships
of up to $20,000 a year to New York college students who commit
to major in science or math, and then to obtain teacher certification
and teach in New York public schools for a minimum of five years.
- Support the provision of a 50 percent tax credit for individual
or corporate contributions to scholarships in Math, Science and
Engineering given to New York students attending New York colleges.
- Support
funding for Just4kids.org and the establishment of a state Pathfinder
Award for most improved schools.
- Support expanding the Liberty
Partnership program to include a focus on encouraging students
to get into math, science and engineering programs and ultimately
jobs.
- Support maintaining high standards for career
and technical education.
- Support the removal of the statutory
cap on the creation of more charter schools
- Support pre-kindergarten
programs for disadvantaged children.
- Support the use of technology
to improve instruction, to ensure that children are technologically
literate, to offer a wider range of courses through on-line learning,
and to streamline administrative and management functions.
- Support
making it easier for parents to choose which school they send
their child to by supporting tax credits educational expenditures
made by parents including tuition expenses.
- Support the establishment
of public private partnerships to promote higher student achievement
and linkages to the workforce.
- Support extending the school
day and school year and professional development for
teachers that is directly related to increasing student achievement
of the state standards.
- Support differential pay for teachers in the high demand areas of math and science.
- Support the elimination of mandates
and improvement in the ability of management to more cost-effectively
utilize taxpayer dollars by repealing the Wicks Law and Triborough
amendment to the Taylor Law.
- Support measures that make tenure
laws more rational relative to teacher competence and that streamline
the 3020-a processes.
- Support improvement in the equity and accountability
of the school aid formula.
- Support improving special education
reimbursement methodology to make it revenue neutral with regard
to the placing or labeling of students in special education programs.
Higher Education
- Support SUNY Excelsior Research Faculty Initiative to reward
universities for new gains in securing federal research grants
by providing a 20 percent research match from state dollars and
strongly support a similar program for independent research universities.
- 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.
- Support allowing SUNY and CUNY
campuses 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 the provision of additional state dollars and support
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 EPP (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 careers and 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, that motivate students to stay in
school and meet and exceed 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 to overcome.
Click here for the 2006
Legislative Program for all Issue areas.
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