Assemblyman David DiPietro (R,C-East Aurora) and his Assembly Minority colleagues have signed on to a letter alerting the state’s new Education Commissioner, MaryEllen Elia, of their work regarding the Common Core curriculum. The letter, which touts several public forums across the state that the conference held on the matter in 2013, requests that Elia review the findings and the Achieving Pupil Preparedness & Launching Excellence (APPLE) Plan (A.3656).

“Common Core continues to put an undue burden on everything and everyone associated with the education system. From children, to parents, to teachers, to administrators, the whole system is flawed, and we need to put a stop to it,” DiPietro said. “We hope that Commissioner Elia comes in with an open mind about the idea of freezing the implementation of Common Core so it can be better studied, and we can move past this failing system. We’ve done the research and spoke with real parents, children and teachers to come up with a plan that helps people rather than the test companies. I will continue to fight against Common Core and the top-down, bureaucratic structure of our current education system. Teachers should run classrooms, not bureaucrats.”

DiPietro is a sponsor of the APPLE Plan, which was blocked by the Assembly Majority in the Education Committee. He plans to hold forums in the fall to further discuss Common Core and the state’s education policy.

Editor’s Note: A copy of the letter is attached.