NEW YORK STATE COMMISSION ON EDUCATION REFORM
AGENCY BUILDING 4, 8TH FLOOR
EMPIRE STATE PLAZA
ALBANY, NY 12224

Press Contact
Jim Denn
(518) 402-5424

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 29, 2004
COMMISSION UNVEILS PLAN TO REFORM STATE EDUCATION SYSTEM

Report Calls for Dramatically Increasing Accountability, Simplifying School Aid System and Targeting Strong Support to High Needs Districts
Frank G. Zarb, Chairman of the New York State Commission on Education Reform, today, on behalf of the Commission, released a report on improving New York State's education system. The report makes comprehensive and long-term recommendations, including a simplified school financing system and new measures to help improve accountability and performance, that will help seize the historic opportunity presented by the Court of Appeals' ruling in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit.

"Six months ago, Governor George E. Pataki created the New York State Commission on Education Reform and charged it with studying and recommending to the Executive and the Legislature suggested reforms to the education finance system in New York State," said Chairman Zarb. "The Commission members have done an extraordinary job creating a blueprint that could be used to help New York State give all of its children the opportunity for a sound basic education.

"The Commission's job is finished, and now we ask that New York's policymakers use this report in the same spirit in which it was developed - with a shared commitment to improving our public schools for the benefit of all of New York's children, especially those in educationally struggling areas."

According to its report entitled "Ensuring Children an Opportunity for a Sound Basic Education," the Commission determined that the State's school financing system must make sure that adequate resources are available to every school district to provide all children with a sound basic education. The Commission also noted that adequate resources must be coupled with a strong accountability system that holds every member of the education community fully accountable for performance.

"We have said time and time again that while resources are needed to improve New York State's education system, dollars are not enough; and if all we do is add money, then we will have failed," said Chairman Zarb. "It is important provide resources, but it is possible to add billions more only to have it sucked into the existing structure while things get worse. We must give priority attention to system reforms. Any new funding should be approved only if accompanied by new measures of accountability.

On September 3, 2003, Governor George E. Pataki issued Executive Order No. 131 creating the New York State Commission on Education Reform. The Governor charged the Commission with studying and recommending to the Executive and the Legislature suggested reforms to the education finance system in New York State and to any other state or local laws, rules, regulations, collective bargaining agreements, policies or practices, to ensure that all children have an opportunity to obtain a sound basic education, in accordance with the requirements of Article XI, Section 1 of the State Constitution and applicable State court decisions.

To carry out its charge, the Commission held five public meetings, formed subcommittees to address specific issues, held six public hearings throughout the State to receive input from the public, conducted research on various topics and considered relevant information from other groups. The recommendations contained in the report represent a consensus of the members of the Commission.

OVERVIEW

The Commission has endeavored to set forth in commonsense terms what kind of funding is needed to provide a sound basic education for our children and how accountability for the delivery of that education should be established.

The Commission shares the view of the Governor and the Court that the present system is in serious and unacceptable disrepair. The Commission has determined that State's school financing system must ensure that adequate resources are available to all school districts to provide all children with the opportunity for a sound basic education. Adequate resources must be coupled with an accountability system that holds every member of the education community fully accountable for performance. For that purpose, the Commission recommends the establishment of an independent Office of Educational Accountability. The Commission believes that there must be no excuse for failure and scarce taxpayer resources must not be wasted. Schools must operate with maximum efficiency so that the best possible results are achieved at a reasonable cost to taxpayers.

Because these issues affect every child in New York State, the Commission has summarized its important recommendations in terms that are straightforward, concise and understandable to every parent.

1. Funding. The Commission requested that Standard and Poor's (S&P) conduct an analysis of spending by successful school districts to help determine the cost of providing all students the opportunity to acquire a sound basic education. The S&P analysis used four different options to identify successful school districts, which generated a range of additional costs from $2.5 billion to $5.6 billion. The educational standards used by Standard and Poor's could be used by the State in determining the cost of providing the opportunity for a sound basic education. The Commission believes the decision on which educational standard to use should be left to the State's elected leaders.

In considering the issue of funding the Commission considered a number of factors which were not included in the S&P study. After reviewing the results provided by S & P, the results of the costing out study by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity and the funding proposals of the State Board of Regents, the Commission recommends that a reasonable place to start is a range of $2.5 billion to $5.6 billion from State, local and federal sources. The State's elected leaders should make a choice of funding within this range. It should be phased in over five years. The State should review the selected level of funding and the performance of the poorly performing schools after three years to determine if any adjustments are needed.

Over the years, the State has added distribution formulas to the State aid system that have made it overly cumbersome and difficult to understand. Currently, there are thirty-seven categories of aid. The Commission's recommendations for changes in the State's school aid formula would make it fair, sustainable and understandable. If enacted, the Commission's recommendations would reduce the number of categories of aid to eleven.

The Commission also recognizes the need for providing additional resources to districts with the greatest needs, based on the percentage of students in a district who are living in poverty. This change reflects the strong link between poverty and student performance. The Commission recommends that no revision of the school aid formula should result in a district receiving less than the year before, with the new resources being allocated according to need.

The Commission has proposed changes to strengthen and simplify the school funding system in order to ensure that every school has the resources to provide the opportunity for a sound basic education. These changes are designed to make the system less complicated and to help school districts and their local taxpayers better anticipate how much funding may be coming to schools for the next year's budget.

2. Predictability and Clarity. Under the new school financing system recommended in the report, State aid to school districts would be based on the actual cost of programs that provide children with an opportunity for a sound basic education. In order to allow local school districts and the State an opportunity to plan for this level of spending, it should be phased in over five years. In order to make the financing of school systems more predictable, the Commission recommends the creation of a dedicated fund guaranteed by the State's General Fund that would pay for the State's share of the recommended changes. Initially, the State should deposit proceeds from the Video Lottery Terminals into the fund. As necessary, the State must supplement this funding to guarantee sufficient funding to support the State's share of the recommended changes. To assist local school districts with their planning process, the State should commit to a State aid formula on a two-year basis and to no mid-year cuts in State aid.

3. Accountability and Authority. The Commission has determined that funding alone is not enough. The link between funding and performance is accountability. The recommendations in this report strengthen that link by advancing a framework of accountability with appropriate standards, sanctions and remedies to be applied if the desired performance and progress are not achieved. The Commission has reviewed past attempts at macro reform and concluded that the only effective approach is one school at a time.

The Commission believes that once the recommendations contained in this report are fully implemented, each and every child will be assured the teachers, principals, instructional materials and facilities they need to receive an opportunity for a sound basic education. The recommendations are intertwined and should be enacted as a package. It is not sufficient to enact the finance reforms that provide necessary funding without the education reforms and it is not sufficient to enact the education reforms without the necessary funding. All of the areas covered by this report must be addressed to achieve fundamental change in the educational system one school at a time.

The report also includes a section containing additional ideas for policymakers to consider. These ideas could not be adequately discussed by the Commission due to the time constraints the Commission was working under. Nevertheless, these ideas are deserving of the attention of the State's policymakers.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

The recommendations being made by the Commission represent a top-to-bottom revamping of the State's educational financing and operating system that will help ensure an improvement in educational attainment for all children.

The school funding and accountability reforms proposed by this Commission will establish - for the first time in State history - a strong and comprehensive system that provides every child attending public schools in New York State with the opportunity to obtain a quality education.

These recommendations call for a wide range of reforms. Among the key recommendations:

FINANCE RECOMMENDATIONS:

The Commission recommends combining most existing State aid categories into a single operating aid formula. This action will streamline and simplify the school funding formula by reducing the number of categories from thirty-seven to eleven.


The basic operating aid formula would be designed to provide the State share of the basic cost of education.
The basic cost amount would be set consistent with the cost of a sound basic education, including adjustments for differences in regional costs and sparsity. The State and local school districts would share in the basic cost amount based on district need measured by property wealth, income wealth and the number of high-needs students.

School districts would receive additional funding based on weightings for students with disabilities.

The proposed formula revisions will not result in a district receiving less than the year before, with new resources allocated according to need.

A new Supplemental Needs Aid program would be designed to help districts with the extraordinary cost of educating students living in poverty and students with limited English proficiency, adjusted for differences in regional costs and sparsity.
The State and local school districts would share in these costs with these additional funds being reflective of these extraordinary costs.

Supplemental Needs Aid would be generated by pupil weightings based on the increased costs of educating students living in poverty and students with limited English proficiency.

Each school district receiving this funding would provide a plan for the expenditure of such funds and account for these funds separately from the rest of their general fund. The State must ensure that school districts with poorly performing schools use this funding to provide students in the poorly performing schools with the opportunity for a sound basic education.
The Commission recommends that the current formulas for textbooks, computer software, library materials and computer hardware be combined into a single formula to allow flexibility at the local level.

Tier 1 will include the current per pupil amounts for textbooks, computer software and library materials.

Tier 2 will be a new equalized formula that recognizes the difficulty low wealth school districts have in providing adequate instructional materials.

Students in nonpublic schools would continue to benefit from loans of instructional materials, including computer hardware, based on the new aid amounts and the flexibility among categories.

The Commission recommends that the State should continue to provide aid to school districts for their transportation, school facilities, computer administration, career education, and BOCES costs.

The Commission recommends reforming special education funding to eliminate any financial incentive to place a student in a restrictive special education program by combining the current weightings for students in special education based on services into a single, appropriate weighting.

The Commission recommends that the current high cost, excess cost aid formula should be continued and combined with the private excess cost aid formula to assist districts with the cost of serving severely disabled students.

The Commission recommends that funding for pre-kindergarten programs be stabilized through the new operating aid formula to ensure continuation and stability of this program.

The Commission recommends that the current maintenance-of-effort provision for New York City be continued, and that a similar maintenance-of-effort provision be extended to the other four dependent school districts.

The Commission recommends that the State commit each year to a State aid formula on a two-year basis and to not reducing State aid in the middle of a school year to ensure local school districts have the information they need to formulate local school district budgets.

The Commission recommends the State create a dedicated fund guaranteed by the State's general fund to pay for the State's portion of the recommended funding changes.

The Commission recommends that the State phase-in the changes to the education finance system over the next five years to allow for proper implementation by the State and local school districts.

The Commission recommends that the State building aid formula be amended to simplify the reimbursement methodology to provide allowances for construction costs based on student space needs, thereby allowing school districts to better understand and plan for the amount of building aid that they will receive. The Commission also recommends that the State Education Department review current provisions pertaining to aid for leased space to ensure school districts are able to select the most cost-effective approach to address their school capacity issues.

The Commission recommends that in order to improve the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of school construction, the State should provide school districts with access to construction management services of the State Dormitory Authority. The Dormitory Authority could assist New York City and other school districts with reducing construction costs through services that include master planning; feasibility studies; cost-benefit analyses; analysis of materials selection; and third-party review of construction documents.

The Commission recommends that the State consider providing city school districts with needed flexibility to finance essential school construction through alternative financing mechanisms on a district-by-district basis.

The Commission recommends that the State Education Department should review the guidelines and regulations for facilities to determine if greater flexibility should be provided to school districts with facilities that are fifty years old or more to ensure the most cost effective choice between renovations of existing facilities and new construction.
ACCOUNTABILITY RECOMMENDATIONS:

Accountability - School District


The Commission recommends that the State should require an allocation plan be developed by New York City and school districts with poorly performing schools with such plan to be approved by the independent Office of Educational Accountability to ensure that each school has the educational resources - including qualified teachers and sufficient instructional materials - necessary to provide the opportunity for a sound basic education, consistent with the recommended five-year phase-in.

The Commission recommends that the State should require local school districts that have a poorly performing school to provide any such school with resources from Federal, State and local sources commensurate with the regionally adjusted amount per pupil determined by the State aid formula. This will help ensure each child receives an opportunity for a sound basic education. Each school district will be required to submit a plan to the independent Office of Educational Accountability showing how they will provide adequate funding and programs to the poorly performing schools in their district. This recommendation should be phased in over five years.

The Commission recommends that the State create a new independent Office of Educational Accountability to oversee the accountability process and monitor the improvement of poorly performing schools.

The Commission recommends improving accountability by using more rigorous standards to identify schools subject to improvement plans that will be monitored for implementation. These standards would be developed by the independent Office of Educational Accountability.

The Commission recommends that the State require that school districts with poorly performing schools develop a plan with specific initiatives for improvement. Each school district with one or more poorly performing schools, as identified by its student performance data, will be required to develop a three-year plan for improving student performance for each poorly performing school. The plan would be developed in cooperation with groups representing parents, teachers and administrators from the poorly performing school.

The Commission recommends that if a poorly performing school is not improved within three years, the entire school must be closed. A new restructured school will be opened with a new principal and staff in accordance with local agreements. In addition, parents would be offered the opportunity to convert the school to a charter school.

The Commission recommends that in cases where a school continues to fail to make sufficient progress for three more years, an interim administrator be appointed by the independent Office of Educational Accountability to manage the school and order the district to make improvements.

The Commission recommends creating a new value-added accountability system, called EduStat, which will provide school districts, individual schools, parents, and State officials with the detailed information they need to review the yearly progress of each student to ensure every child receives an opportunity for a sound basic education.

The Commission recommends that the EduStat system be designed to track a wide array of information, including school performance, attendance and dropout data.

The Commission recommends that the EduStat system also be used to help track how effectively State and local resources are utilized at the local school level. This additional financial information and data would enable State and local policymakers to make better-informed judgments on education related policies and reforms each year.

The Commission recommends requiring the Board of Regents to report to the Governor at an annual public meeting on student performance and the impact of current and future policies on school district finances.

The Commission recommends improving school governance in New York's large cities by placing greater responsibility for the education system with the mayors, thus giving the voters a way to hold a public official accountable for the schools.

The Commission recommends improving school governance in all school districts by requiring all school board members to receive training in their roles and responsibilities.

The Commission recommends requiring poorly performing schools to develop alternative placement for disruptive students to improve the learning environment for other students. This would ensure school safety and would strengthen the existing Project SAVE law, which requires codes of conduct, school safety plans and removal of persistently disruptive pupils.

The Commission recommends requiring school districts with poorly performing schools to develop specific plans and initiatives to ensure parental accountability and involvement.

The Commission recommends that local school officials be required to develop specific initiatives to ensure student accountability and involvement, including academic and counseling plans to keep potential dropouts in school and to encourage dropouts to return to school.
Accountability - School Leadership


The Commission recommends strengthening school leadership by allowing local school districts to eliminate tenure for principals and administrators and replace it with a renewable three- to five- year contract and an expedited disciplinary process.

The Commission recommends that the Board of Regents amend certification requirements for school administrators to require 175 hours of professional development every five years to keep their certification in good standing.

The Commission recommends that school districts and administrators should be encouraged to negotiate pay for performance plans using a system such as value added assessments.
Accountability - Teachers

The Commission recommends that the State help school districts with poorly performing schools attract, retain and provide professional development opportunities to teachers in the poorly performing schools by continuing support for initiatives such as the Teachers of Tomorrow program, the Mentor Teacher Intern program and the Teacher Center program.

The Commission recommends that the State allow retired public employees, such as police officers and firefighters, with appropriate qualifications and credentials, to teach, serve as security officers, or hold other positions in public school districts while still receiving their pension.

The Commission recommends that alternative teacher certification programs be expanded to increase the pool of qualified teaching candidates.

The Commission recommends that school districts with poorly performing schools should be encouraged to provide competitive pay scales, develop career ladders, and use a variety of approaches to attract and retain teachers for the poorly performing schools, including the use of incentives for teaching in hard-to-staff schools and teaching in hard-to-staff subjects and pay-for-performance plans based on a variety of different factors such as value-added concepts.

The Commission recommends reforms to address teacher incompetence. The districts should first be encouraged to help underperforming teachers, and the teacher discipline and removal process should be accelerated.

The Commission recommends that the tenured teacher discipline process should be reformed to require an expedited hearing when the charges involve the loss of State certification.
Accountability - Standards

The Commission recommends support for the current Regents Learning Standards.

The Commission recommends that the Board of Regents appoint an independent panel with representatives of the education community, higher education, the business community and labor (similar to the panel convened at the beginning of the standards movement) to review the current performance standards (testing requirements) and make recommendations as to whether the tests match the learning standards and whether scoring for current assessments can be made more consistent and understandable.

The Commission recommends that the Board of Regents monitor students in Career and Technical Education programs now required to complete Regents exams in five academic courses plus a rigorous Career and Technical Education program to ascertain if the requirements have had an adverse impact on enrollment or completion of these programs and make any adjustments required to reverse any negative trends.

The Commission recommends the creation of the Governor's Award for School Improvement to highlight schools each year that show the most improvement.
Other reform recommendations:

The Commission recommends that the State suspend the Wicks law for school district construction projects.
The Commission recommends that the State reduce planning and reporting requirements for local school districts.
The Commission recommends that community-based pre-kindergarten programs receiving State funding be more closely aligned to the public school program. This would help ensure that pre-kindergarten for all children in New York is a quality experience that will properly prepare them for success in the early grades.
ADDITIONAL IDEAS FOR CONSIDERATION BY POLICYMAKERS

A number of additional issues were advocated by one or more Commission members for further study. Commissioners, due to the truncated timeframe for deliberation, were unable to thoroughly evaluate these issues sufficiently to establish a consensus. Commission members who raised these issues believe that they should be evaluated and considered by State policymakers as the State moves forward with a plan to ensure that all students in New York State are provided the opportunity for a sound basic education.

Some of the issues listed below received preliminary review by the Commission, but none of these issues were either endorsed or rejected by the commission.

Early Intervention: The Commission discussed the concept of early intervention and expanding access to pre-kindergarten programs for economically disadvantaged three-year-olds. However, there was not sufficient time to examine all of the costs, benefits and other consequences of such a proposal. The State should consider reviewing this issue.

Longer School Year: Many industrialized nations commonly utilize a longer school year than the 180-day school year that is common in the United States. The State should consider the potential benefits of lengthening the school year.

Longer School Day: The State should consider the potential benefits of lengthening the regular school day to increase instruction time, increase student safety and encourage positive behavior.

Board of Regents Reform: New York is one of the few states where the governor does not have the power to appoint the State board of education. The State should consider providing the Governor with a role in the appointment of the State's Board of Regents.

Education Commissioner: Many governors in other states have the power to appoint the State's Commissioner of Education. This enables voters to hold an elected official accountable for school performance. The State should consider changing how the Commissioner is appointed.

School Uniforms: Some schools have found the use of school uniforms help improve student morale and discipline. The State should consider reviewing the benefits of expanding the use of school uniforms into more schools.

Charter Schools: Charter Schools have been operating in New York for several years. The State should consider whether the number of schools should be expanded and whether the funding system for charters schools should be adjusted.

Social Promotion: Policies that prevent students in certain grades from being promoted on to the next grade, if they cannot pass a State or local assessment of skills may improve student performance in future grades, reduce over-classification and placement of students in special education, and reduce the drop-out rate. The State should consider encouraging all school districts to review the benefits of ending social promotion.

Smaller Schools: New York City is currently moving forward with an effort to open smaller schools in order to provide a wider range of educational options for students and parents. The State should consider policies designed to support such efforts.

Class Size: The Commission did not come to a conclusion on class size but did recognize that overcrowding in some districts has caused higher than average class sizes. The State should consider additional review of this issue.

Teacher Tenure Reform: Alternatives to teacher tenure have been discussed for many years. The State should consider reviewing the costs and benefits of reforming teacher tenure.

Teacher Colleges: There have been significant changes in the requirements for teacher preparation. The State should consider reviewing how teacher colleges can be further strengthened and improved to help increase the State's pool of qualified teachers.

Teacher Testing: The State should monitor developments in teacher testing and should consider testing that enhances the quality, performance, and accountability of the State's teaching force.

Student Discipline: The State should consider reviewing the benefits of enhancing the discipline authority of school principals. Reforms to be studied could include extending the duration of suspensions from school for students who break rules and disrupt the learning environment for other students.

Custodians: All school districts need to achieve savings and utilize their resources in a more cost effective manner. Overly restrictive and expensive custodian labor agreements should be reviewed to assist local school districts.

Middle School Reform: The Commission discussed middle schools and raised concerns about student performance. The State should continue monitoring to determine the effect of reforms on improving the performance of the State's middle schools.

Special Education Reform: In addition to the changes to the special education funding formula, the State should consider studying the system to ensure students receive the services to which they are entitled in the least restrictive and most appropriate setting.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:

In June 2003, New York State's highest court, the Court of Appeals, found that the New York City school system did not provide the opportunity for all children to achieve a sound basic education. The finding came as part of the Court's decision in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case, initially brought against the State in 1993.

The Court of Appeals' ruling in Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York provided New York State with an historic opportunity to ensure that all of our children have the opportunity to obtain a sound basic education.

As part of its remedy in the decision, the Court directed the State to implement the following measures by July 30, 2004:


Ascertain the actual cost of providing a sound basic education in New York City;

Ensure that every school in New York City has the resources necessary for providing the opportunity for a sound basic education; and

Develop a system of accountability to measure whether the reforms actually provide the opportunity for a sound basic education.
In its decision, the Court acknowledged the recent reforms made to the New York City public schools under the leadership of Governor George E. Pataki and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, as well as the significant increase in support to public schools under Governor Pataki and the State Legislature. In 2003 - for the first time - New York City schools received a greater share of statewide school aid than their share of statewide enrollment. In 2004, that continues to be the case.

Today, elementary and secondary education in New York State is a $39 billion enterprise supported by State, local and Federal funds. Since 1997, when the Court issued its initial decision, State aid to schools across the State has increased by $3.5 billion or 32 percent - nearly twice the rate of inflation. In that same time period, State aid to New York City schools has grown from $3.8 billion in 1997-98 to $5.3 billion in 2003-04, an increase of $1.5 billion or 39 percent - or more than twice the rate of inflation.

In 2002-03, New York State schools spent $11,515 per pupil, more than any other state in the nation and about 47 percent more than the national average. A National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) study, often called the nation's report card, found that New York made significant gains in achievement in 2003 based on fourth and eighth grade math and reading levels. New York State is also a national leader in standards-based reforms, receiving a grade of "A" for our standards and assessments from Education Week's "Quality Counts" report. In addition, there has been a substantial increase in the number of students taking Advanced Placement courses over the past decade, and New York State is ranked third nationally in the percentage of high school graduates who go immediately on to college. Finally, New York students consistently win more Intel science awards than any other state.

However, despite these accomplishments in the State, our education system still needs to work on improving achievement for all students.

Over the past three decades, various commissions have been created to report on the quality, cost and financing of education in New York State. Subsequent to the release of the Fleischmann (1969), Rubin (1982), Salerno (1988) and Swygert (1993) commission reports, there has been an ongoing debate over how to improve New York's public school system.

Despite the efforts of these commissions, many issues remain to be addressed today. While New York State has among the best public schools found anywhere in the world, as well as the most expensive education system in the nation, there are still too many schools that fail to provide children with the opportunity they need to succeed. These schools exist despite many improvements and billions of dollars that have been added to that system over the years.

It is this fundamental reality that the Commission on Education Reform was challenged to address. ###



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