With the new school year just around the corner, I wanted to highlight some of the many initiatives I helped pass to ensure our children have every resource at their disposal to succeed.

This session, I fought for a strong commitment to education for our children. We finally restored the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA), which for so long put our state budget ahead of the needs of our children by slashing education funding. We closed the GEA by adding an additional $1.4 billion to a total commitment of $24.7 billion to our children’s education, making it a top priority as it should always be. North Country and Mohawk Valley schools also saw a five percent increase in school funding allocated in the Enacted Budget, raising their combined school budgets by $19,575,472 over the previous year.

Despite these momentous gains, we are still struggling as a state to combat Common Core and the failed standards that are currently impairing the individualized needs of our students. I will continue to fight on behalf of a curriculum that better suits the needs of our children. By expanding the possibilities for parent/child-based decisions, I believe we will ultimately improve the participation and progress of many children with unique needs that cannot be met through a universal approach.

The answer to our education problems unfortunately does not end with the enforcement of a one-size-fits-all curriculum. The federal government continues to enforce its will upon the states to maintain certain standards and procedures, such as punishment plans aimed to fix the opt-out rates of school districts. I believe in states solving their own problems, and I will continue to advocate for school choice, increased education funding, and carefully-sculpted curricula that will help our children achieve a great education and fulfill their greatest potential.

I welcome your thoughts or questions on education within our state or any other legislative matter. Please contact me by emailing blankenbushk@nyassembly.gov or by calling my office at 315-493-3909.