There’s Trouble in Board of Regents-land
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
The Constitution never mentions education; education is therefore “reserved to the states.” In most states governors appoint a board of education and the board, or the governor appoints a commissioner of education.
In New York State the Board of Regents, created in the 18th century is the decision-making body. The composition of the board has been a subject of contention and has changed dramatically over the decades. At times appointed by the governor, at times by the legislature, at times for specific terms, at times for life; see a brief history of the Board of Regents here
The legislature reduced the (renewable) terms of office to seven years in 1974, and to five years in 1994, citing “a need for increased accountability of the Regents”
Currently there are seventeen members of the Board, one for each judicial district and four at –large selected by a joint meeting of the legislatures. Since there are 150 Assembly members and 63 Senators and currently the democrats hold a majority the selection is made by the Speaker of the Assembly.
There are no qualifications, the positions are posted, anyone can apply and all applicants are interviewed, members of the Assembly and Senate Education Committees hold public interviews, currently on Zoom and one candidate is voted upon by a joint meeting of the legislature, the Senate frequently doesn’t even appear for the vote.
The current Speaker, Carl Heastie usually defers to the senior Democrat in the geographic area of the judicial district.
The Regents members are unpaid and unstaffed, meet on Monday and Tuesday once a month from September to July. The Regents members select a Chancellor, who assigns members to committees as well as appointing chairs for each committee. The Board hires a Commissioner who leads the Department of Education, there are 700 school districts and 4400 schools; the Office of the Professions and Libraries also fall under the jurisdiction of the Board of Regents. . .
From time to time the legislature/governor will pass laws (see NYS education law here and the Regents will set Regulations See here.
The governor has no statuary role in setting education policy, occasionally the governor will add education policy items to the budget, as she did by adding a section to remove the regional cap on charter schools; the cap was retained after a month-long struggle delaying the budget..
In January the governor will lay out her plans in a State of the State address and in late January release the preliminary budget which may include policies that are not budgetary.
For example, NYC mayoral control sunsets if no extension is passed, the governor could add an extension as part of her preliminary budget and continue to press for removing the regional charter school cap, or not.
Curriculum is a local matter, the Regents/State Department sets standards (See NYS Standards here); the implementation of the standards is left to the 700 school districts. Under the Race to the Top grant Chancellor Tisch and Commissioner Steiner established Engage NY, curriculum modules in every subject on every grade, Engage NY was open source, meaning available to anyone and was widely used across the state. Some schools/school districts formally adopted; the modules were used across the nation, millions of users. State Education no longer supports Engage NY.
Regents/State Education turned their attention to Graduation Measures, has held innumerable meetings across the state and appointed a Blue Ribbon Commission that has been meeting since December, and, apparently has not reached a consensus.
Since the initiative began the core question: does the state intend to discontinue Regents Examinations or decouple Regents Exams from graduation requirements?
The Blue Ribbon Commission meetings are not live streamed, in fact, no reports at all. Doesn’t the Open Meetings law require public access? Even the members of the Board are not briefed on progress, or lack thereof.
Board of Regents Chancellor Lester W. Young, Jr. said, “The intent of this initiative was never to lower standards; to the contrary, it focused on placing all New York State students on a success trajectory by providing them access to the necessary opportunities and support they need. The Commission’s ultimate recommendations culminate from a robust stakeholder input process and an extensive review of relevant research, literature, and experience
Commissioner Betty A. Rosa said, “Going into this process, we knew the current system wasn’t working for all students. Thanks to the voices of all those involved in the Commission, we will soon have a roadmap for learning-centered education that best meets the needs of every student in New York State and incorporates competency imperatives that provide them the practical skills needed for the dynamic demands of tomorrow’s workforce. This vital work will allow students to demonstrate what they’ve learned in a meaningful way as they prepare for college, career, and civic life
Questions being asked: Isn’t ending Regents Exams lowering standards? Why hasn’t State Ed concentrated on early literacy?
The New York Equity Coalition in November 2022 released a devastating report emphasizing the embarrassing low rates of student proficiency, especially among the poorest students Read here
In July, 2023, in response to the statements by Chancellor Young and Commissioner Rosa the Equity Coalition posted specific recommendations to the Blue Ribbon Commission. (Read full report here)
“… It is understandable that the New York State Department of Education (NYSED) would undertake a review of graduation requirements. Yet, current graduation requirements did not cause these challenges and proposed changes to provide additional pathways to a diploma will not fix the systemic issues facing our K-12 system. In many ways, it is the wrong conversation at the wrong time, with the potential to exacerbate the inequities that plague schools across New York.
Rather than tinkering with graduation requirements, now is the time for NYSED to embrace a bold and holistic P-20 approach to education that ensures all graduates can read, write, and have the skills necessary to succeed in college or careers. By doing so, students will reach their senior year with the ability to meet rigorous standards and succeed on multiple measures, including Regents exams and performance-based options.”
The New York Times opines,
“As States Confront a Reading Crisis in Schools, New York Lags Behind: Across the nation school leaders are taking steps to improve reading instruction for struggling students. But in New York concern has grown. Is too little being done,”
And the New York Post responded,,
”Schoolchildren can’t read – yet state leaders refuse to act. Look what The New York Times finally discovered: New York school kids — in alarming numbers — can’t read.
On Wednesday, the paper reported the state is behind the rest of the nation in fixing its reading program and that declines in fourth-grade reading scores here on last year’s National Assessment of Educational Progress test were twice the national average”.
Will we wait until the fall for the Blue Ribbon Commission recommendations? Will the governor use the criticism to attempt to restructure state education leadership? The governor just announced the appointment of a Secretary to the Governor for Education and a Deputy Secretary for Intergovernmental Relations.
Instead of mayoral control and charter school caps, both contentious issues that alienate important constituencies perhaps restructuring state educational leadership will draw more allies.
Is it time “for increased accountability of the Regents?”