Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) recently joined his Assembly Minority colleagues at a press conference to unveil the Achieving Pupil Preparedness and Launching Excellence (APPLE) Plan -- the Assembly Minority Conference’s educational initiative to enact Common Core reforms.

The APPLE Plan is the culmination of 11 statewide educational forums held by the Assembly Minority Conference where they listened to testimony expressing the concerns of parents, teachers, students and administrators about the problems they have experienced relative to the new Common Core Standards. With an attendance of approximately 300 people, the legislators and public listened to nearly five hours of testimony that was given by 40 parents, students and educators at a December 5th forum held in Corning, NY hosted by Assembly members Phil Palmesano and Chris Friend.

“I am proud that our conference has led the effort in highlighting the problems with Common Core and its disastrous implementation. It is vitally important that we act to address the concerns we heard from so many parents, students, teachers and administrators. It is equally important that State Education Department Commissioner King and the Board of Regents recognize these problems and act to correct them, rather than dismiss them out of hand. It is imperative that we ensure our children receive the best education possible as we empower our teachers to unleash their creativity in the classroom, and not stifle them with micromanagement and teach-to-test mandates,” concluded Assemblyman Phil Palmesano.

The details of the plan include the following:

Evaluate State Assessments and Curriculum – Prevent the State Education Department from requiring schools to use Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessments until a comprehensive review of the Common Core Standards and PARCC is considered. Upon review of the state assessments and curriculum, the new standards would be phased in on a grade-by-grade level, starting in first grade.

Funding Equity – Eliminate the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) over three years. Provide state reimbursement for implementing teacher evaluations, Common Core, and PARCC. Provide reimbursement for school districts that expended resources to locally develop curriculum aligned to the Common Core Standards.

Teacher Preparedness – Place a higher priority on providing professional development for instruction on the Common Core curriculum and the administration of the PARCC assessment.

Teacher Involvement – Create an independent teacher panel to develop, review, and approve age/developmentally-appropriate curriculum and assessments based on Common Core guidelines. Give teachers access to test results to provide feedback to students.

Restrict the Use of Student Data – Limit the disclosure of student information by a school district or private school to those directly under the control of the district. Require written parental consent or written consent of an eligible student (those who are 18) prior to any information being disclosed to a contractor, consultant, or other third party.

Equity for Special Education Students – Require testing to be conducted at the level decided on by the Individual Education Plan (IEP) team. Convene a workgroup to analyze the Common Core Standards, develop methods for different instruction for special-needs students, and identify best practices.

21st Century Pathways – Create alternate pathways to a high school diploma including a Career and Technical Education pathway. Increase state funding for BOCES, thereby making BOCES a resource for school districts rather than a financial burden. Encourage the incorporation of instruction in career and technical skills in the classrooms.

Revamp State Education Department – Allow the Governor to appoint the Commissioner of Education. Require any changes by the Board of Regents that impose an unfunded mandate on schools to be approved by the State Legislature and Governor.

A copy of the APPLE plan is available at http://www.scribd.com/doc/201479293/At-the-Educational-Crossroads. A link also can be found on Assemblyman Palmesano’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Assemblyman-Phil-Palmesano/542051452491033. Here is a link of Assemblyman Palmesano speaking to reporters following the press conference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_pGxmVMxRE&feature=youtu.be.