Dive Brief:

• The president of New York's state teacher union, Karen Magee, is pushing back against Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 11-point education reform proposal, which includes aggressive changes like making student test scores worth 50% of a teacher's evaluation, compared to the 20% it was previously counted as.
• Magee says Cuomo's plan is part of a bigger scheme to privatize New York schools, allowing wealthy supporters of the governor to profit. She argues that funds and attention should instead be focused on addressing the issue of student poverty in the state. 
• The state budget deadline is March 31, at which time legislators will decide which of Cuomo's proposals they would like to fund. 

Dive Insight:

It is currently unclear how Cuomo's plan will fare, but one thing working in favor of Magee and her cohorts is the fact that, last week, Democrats in the State Assembly rejected the 11-point plan. Speaker Carl E. Heastie explained the move by saying, “We must help our children to succeed, not punish them because they may live in poorer communities or deny their schools the funding they need to improve the learning environment.”

When asked for comments in response to Magee's criticisms about the privatization of education, a spokesperson for the governor said it was a "wild conspiracy theory." 

Ultimately, the back-and-forth highlights the fact that New York has once again become something of a reflection of the education debates brewing across the nation.