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| U.S. Education Department reversal on NCLB hurts Syracuse schools Sept. 27, 2006 ALBANY, N.Y. September 27, 2006 – New York State United Teachers President Richard C. Iannuzzi, joined by Syracuse city school leaders, today criticized the U.S. Department of Education for reversing its own policy and requiring students with special needs and students who are newly arrived English language learners (ELL) to take the same English language exams as the rest of the student population. Iannuzzi, joined by city schools Superintendent Dan Lowengard and Syracuse Teachers Association President Kate McKenna, said the federal government's decision to reverse its previous policy — and now require newly arrived students to take the same exams as everyone else — would hurt students in Syracuse schools. "Any option that is unfair to our English language learners is the wrong option, especially when it's applied to those students who have recently come to this country," Iannuzzi said. "This policy reversal will also lead to more schools being unjustly labeled 'in need of improvement.'" "We are in the business of doing what's best for children and for helping them to succeed," Lowengard added. "Requiring students who are new to this country, and whose command of English is tenuous, to take standardized tests in English is unduly harsh and will falsely label many students — and their schools — as failing." McKenna, president of the union representing the city's teachers and paraprofessionals, said the U.S. Department of Education's ruling was misguided. "It's not based on sound education policy and it's not fair," McKenna said. "Our focus should be on meeting students' needs, not on finding new ways to label students as failures." The new policy, which reversed assessment requirements for ELL and special education students, was sent down from the U.S. Department of Education this summer. Iannuzzi said the federal government had previously approved New York state's accountability plan, which incorporates appropriate exams for newly arrived ELL students and special education students. "The US Education Department is dead wrong," Iannuzzi said. "NYSUT fully supports high academic standards and high standards of accountability, and we support testing as a tool to help measure and improve student progress. "But this change is educationally unsound. It undermines the gains we've made in closing the performance gap for English language learners and students with disabilities. Forcing a child recently arrived in the U.S. who speaks little or no English to take the eighth-grade ELA is ridiculous. The outcome is obvious. And the federal government will label this child a failure and punish the school in the process." NYSUT represents 575,000 teachers, school-related professionals, academic and professional faculty in higher education, professionals in education and health care and retirees. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and the AFL-CIO. -30-
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CONTACT: NYSUT Media Relations and Communications. (518) 213-6000, Ext. 6313. E-Mail: mediarel@nysutmail.org. |
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