Long Island parents, educators weigh in on New York's proposed regionalization plan

As a first step, school districts are filling out a needs assessment survey.

Jonathan Gordon

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Nov 22, 2024, 5:14 PM

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Updated 5 days ago

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Changes could be coming to classrooms all across New York and many parents, particularly on Long Island, are not happy about it.

In September, the New York State Education Department released guidance on a proposal called regionalization. The idea would allow school districts across each BOCES region to collaborate and share resources. The goal is to save money and create better educational opportunities for all students across the state.

But the plan is facing considerable opposition, particularly from Republican lawmakers, parents and even some school board members.

Those who oppose the plan called it a power grab by the state, and worry it could water down the classroom experience and give parents less power to make decisions about their children's education.

"I would say a majority, 99% of people are against it. I think it's really important that we get to decide what we want to do with our education," Jericho parent Mindy Lin said on Friday morning after she dropped her kid off for school.

On Thursday night, the Jericho Union Free School District held a packed board of education meeting to discuss the ongoing process. Like every school district in the state, Jericho is in the process of filling out a needs assessment survey to submit to the education department.

The Herricks School Board held a similar meeting last night where educators said they had complied with the requirement to submit data to the state but said that's as far as they're willing to take it.

"We unequivocally will not support any attempt to undermine the ability of the Herricks administration and board of education to determine what is best for our students," Herricks Board of Education President Juleigh Chin said.

In response to these concerns, a member of the Board of Regents clarified that school districts would only be required to complete the survey with no further obligation to adopt the regionalization plan.

A spokesperson for the state education department told News 12 in a statement on Friday:

"The Department's Regionalization Initiative is not a state mandate to merge programs or districts. Rather, it’s a call for collaborative conversations about innovative ideas to enhance educational opportunities for all students. While proposing these ideas is the responsibility of districts, not NYSED, some examples of the innovative proposals that we have heard about are increased access to in-district Career and Tech Education or CTE, advanced course offerings, and student support services. NYSED firmly believes that local solutions are key to addressing local challenges, which is why we’re encouraging districts to learn from one another and build on successful practices. Given the scope of what the initiative is actually aimed at accomplishing, any attempt to circumvent innovation with misinformation will ultimately only negatively impact the children of New York, and they deserve better."

Still, parents called on the district to do everything to fight the plan.

A spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul noted the governor has no role in the creation or oversight of the education department's plan adding "It is the governor’s firm position that this proposal should be OPTIONAL for each school district and that any opt-in should be decided by the voters in that district."

School districts have until Dec. 6 to complete the survey with action plans likely beginning for those who opt-in at the beginning of 2025.

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