Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara’s 2018 Student Cabinet met today at the state Capitol to conduct a hearing on recent legislation A.10475 that Santabarbara was a sponsor of this year. The bill eliminating the use of state testing for teacher evaluations was passed in the State Assembly earlier this year and is now in the State Senate for consideration.

Education advocates testified and answered questions from students about Assembly Bill (A.10475). The bill eliminates the use of state tests for teacher evaluations and also prohibits ELA or math state assessments recorded in grades 3 through 8 from being included on a student’s record. Following the hearing, the students came up with their own ideas for legislation and presented their proposals.

“The goal of the program is to give students a voice in the critical issues affecting their education,” said Assemblyman Santabarbara. “Our meetings have produced lively debates and meaningful discussions about some of the tough issues that are affecting education today,” Santabarbara said. “At this meeting, students weighed in on some of the tough issues that are affecting education today including the significance of this bill that makes common-sense reforms and acknowledges that students learn in a variety of ways.”

The Student Cabinet was assembled by Santabarbara to give students from Schenectady, Montgomery and Albany County, in the ten school districts represented in the 111th Assembly District, a voice in the critical issues affecting their education. Their first meeting this year was held at the Clarkson University Capital Region Campus in the City of Schenectady, where students worked in groups to learn about school budgets and how local schools are funded with state aid. The students then drafted their own school budgets and allocated state education aid based on those proposals.

“My student cabinet program is a wonderful opportunity for students to experience and engage in the legislative process,” said Assemblyman Santabarbara. “Students from different communities also had the opportunity to collaborate with one another, exchange views and talk about some of the unique challenges each of the school districts are faced with.”