Wednesday, the Legislature held a budget hearing on education and, as Ranking Minority Member of the Assembly Education Committee, Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) was an active participant. Providing testimony was state Commissioner of Education John King, and his appearance provided Ra with his first chance to question the commissioner on Common Core since unveiling the APPLE Plan, to reform these flawed standards and curriculum, late last week.

The APPLE Plan was the result of 11 public forums hosted statewide by Ra. The forums featured testimony from administrators, educators, parents and other stakeholders in our children’s education on the detrimental effect Common Core was having on schools. Absent at these forums was any input from Commissioner King. Ra took full advantage of the opportunity to voice these concerns directly to the commissioner. Video of his questions and dialogue with King can be found at http://youtu.be/YnfT6dmNb-4.

“When Common Core was implemented, there was a glaring hole in the way our education system handles special education,” said Ra. “Specifically, there has been a lack of resources and funding needed by teachers to ensure Common Core does not stray in providing special-needs students’ individual education plans. There's been a lack of appropriate rubrics for these students, and they're being tested inappropriately for their developmental level, and yesterday’s hearing provided the opportunity for me to voice these concerns directly to Commissioner King.”

For more information on Ra’s statewide education forums, please visit bit.ly/educationalcrossroads. For information on the APPLE Plan, visit bit.ly/APPLEplan.