Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) today commented on the resignation of New York State Education Commissioner John King. Hawley believes King’s appointment to the U.S. Department of Education is troubling, considering the disastrous implementation of Common Core under his leadership. Hawley pointed out that the vacuum at the top of New York’s Education Department provides The Board of Regents an opportunity to appoint a commissioner who will implement policy more responsibly and work with all parties involved to make much-needed changes to Common Core in the near future.

“Now that Commissioner King has resigned, we can move forward in better shaping education policy in New York State,” Hawley said. “His tenure as Commissioner of Education represents some of the worst education policy ever implemented in the history of the state, and one of my top priorities moving forward will be to slow down the process and re-evaluate the Common Core Standards with more input from stakeholders. The Assembly Minority Conference’s APPLE Plan would have solved many of the struggles and concerns related to Common Core, but the Assembly Majority did not allow it to come up for a vote. I hope that Gov. Cuomo and education officials can work with legislative leaders in a bipartisan fashion to make necessary reforms moving forward.”

Hawley’s comments come after Commissioner King announced Wednesday that he will be stepping down as New York State Education Commissioner at the end of the year to take a position as Senior Advisor to U.S. Education Commissioner Arne Duncan. Hawley, a member of the Genesee Valley BOCES Board of Education for eight years as well as the recipient of a Bachelor’s degree in Education, has been a staunch opponent of Common Core. Hawley was also named “Outstanding New Legislator” in the Assembly in 2008 by the New York State School Board Association. He, along with the other members of the Assembly Minority Conference, co-sponsored the APPLE Plan which would have made significant reforms to Common Core. The bill was defeated as a floor amendment last legislative session.