Dive Brief:
- New York Education Commissioner John King's departure for a position as senior adviser to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan shouldn't adversely affect the state's 2015 education plans, according to experts.
- Capital New York reports that King's exit will be less noticeable since Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state legislators are increasingly focusing on education, with the governor in many way co-opting issues that may have previously been handled by the state's regents or education department.
- This is said to have been most apparent during the 2014 legislative session, when Cuomo and state legislators answered Common Core pushback from parents and teachers by creating provisions that would stop results from exams aligned to the standards from being kept on permanent record or used for promotions.
Dive Insight:
Cuomo also proposed a "safety net" bill that would stop Common Core-aligned test results from being used to evaluate teachers in the first few years. While the governor introduced the bill and it was passed by lawmakers, he still hasn't signed it.
In fact, according to Capital New York, Cuomo very much blamed King for the failed rollout of new tests and evaluations. This makes sense, since in April, the New York State United Teachers held a no-confidence vote, calling for King's resignation — also due to the tests and evaluations.