ALBANY, N.Y. June 26, 2015 — New York State United Teachers today released the following statement
about the end of the 2015 legislative session:
"NYSUT thanks those courageous legislators who listened to parents and educators and then acted to put
students ahead of profiteers.
"Unparalleled advocacy by impassioned educators, standing in unity with parents on behalf of students and
quality public schools, laid the foundation for the Legislature to reject a toxic education agenda and begin to
turn the tide on over-testing. The Legislature rejected a tax credit that would have been the most lavish tax
giveaway ever for rich supporters of private schools. The cap on charter schools statewide remains unchanged. An effort to make the undemocratic tax cap permanent was beaten back, and it was improved with the addition
of two new exemptions. These are significant advances.
"A number of pro-public education provisions were included in the omnibus bill, such as the establishment of
an SED review committee that will be charged with ensuring state tests are age appropriate and fair for English
Language Learners. The state 3-8 field tests that burden students and local school districts will be eliminated. And there was movement toward greater transparency and mitigation of the 'gag order'.
"The battle for the future of public education is far from over. In concert with parents, NYSUT will continue to
oppose over-testing, press for fair evaluations and redouble our efforts to provide students and educators, from
pre-k through post-grad, with the tools they need to excel."
New York State United Teachers is a statewide union with more than 600,000 members in education, human
services and health care. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, the National
Education Association and the AFL-CIO.