When it comes to education, we must make every effort to provide our children with a solid foundation that will prepare them for future success. This includes providing vital funding for our schools and making certain the education policies we enact will give our students the support and opportunities they deserve.

After listening to the concerns of parents and teachers and meeting with local education officials, it became clear that certain reforms had to be made to ensure a system that was fair for teachers and beneficial to our students. Last week, the Assembly took an important step toward making that a reality by passing legislation to address some of those concerns and put the focus back on learning – not over-testing (A.7303).

The Assembly’s legislation will give the Board of Regents more time to craft the details of the teacher evaluation system, because an issue this critical deserves the most careful consideration. It also delinks increases in state education aid from the implementation of teacher evaluations, giving local school districts the opportunity to adapt to these changes, without depriving our teachers and students of resources they need and deserve. Additionally, it would create a new content review committee to look at state standardized tests to ensure they’re fair and grade-level appropriate as well as require the education commissioner to review Common Core education standards and recommend any necessary changes. I encourage my colleagues in the state Senate to pass this vital piece of legislation that is so important to the future of education in our state.

But true education reform is about more than just policy changes, it's about selecting quality leaders with the right experience to get the job done. On Tuesday, the New York State Board of Regents made history when they announced the appointment of a new commissioner to lead the department of education. On July 6, MaryEllen Elia will take her place as our state's first female to hold the department’s top job. As an upstate New York native, and a former student and teacher in New York's public education system, Commissioner Elia understands many of the challenges that our communities face. Although she is beginning her new position at a time when our state is tackling a number of controversial education reforms, I’m confident that she’s up to the task. I look forward to working with Commissioner Elia and the Board of Regents in the weeks and months ahead to make education better for all students in our community.

As we move forward, I’ll continue to fight for high-quality education in New York because the success of our community depends on the success of our schools. As always, should you have any questions about education, or any other community issue, please feel free to contact me at StirpeA@assembly.state.ny.us or by calling 452-1115.