Skip to main content

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 2, 2017
For More Information Contact:

JP O'Hare

(518) 474-1201

Press@nysed.gov

NYSED Seal

State Education Department Announces 13 Public Meetings To Be Held To Receive Comment On Draft Every Student Succeeds Act Plan

Written Comments Accepted May 9-June16

The is seeking continuing stakeholder and public input as it develops the state Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan, Commissioner MaryEllen Elia announced today. To facilitate this, 13 public hearings will be held across the state to gather feedback on the state’s draft ESSA plan and written comments will be accepted May 9 – June 16.

“The Board of Regents and I have made it our guiding mission throughout this process to ensure that every child has equitable access to the highest quality educational opportunities, services and supports,” Chancellor Betty A. Rosa said. “By asking parents, teachers, students and community organizations for feedback during every step of the plan development, we are working to make sure New York schools provide highly effective instruction aligned to the state’s standards, as well as positive learning environments so that each child is prepared for success in college, career and citizenship.”

“We have to help schools improve performance without reducing them to a number or a letter,” Commissioner Elia said. “We reviewed more than 2,000 survey responses and feedback from more than 120 public meetings in developing our state accountability plan. We have also engaged extensively with national experts in developing this draft. After we present our draft plan to the Board of Regents, we want feedback from educators and parents across the state so we can submit a proposal to the U.S. Department of Education that best addresses the needs of New York’s children. These public hearings and the public comment period are the next step to help us do that.”

The draft plan will be presented to the Board of Regents at its May meeting and the first public hearing will be held on May 11.

To allow for as many speakers as possible, each person will have a maximum of three minutes to speak and will be asked to make their presentations in the order in which the person signed up to speak. In the event that there are more speakers at a hearing than available speaking slots, persons may submit written comments. The public also will be able to submit written comments on the draft application during a public comment period from May 10 to June 16. The Department will review all comments as it finalizes New York’s ESSA plan.

The public hearings and comment period are the latest in the Department’s efforts to collect feedback on the draft ESSA plan. Input has also come from:

  • More than 100 ESSA Think Tank members, representing 108 stakeholder organizations, who have worked together since last July;
  • A Survey of Possible School Quality and Student Success Indicators that received more than 2,000 responses; and
  • A series of more than 120 regional meetings held statewide last fall and this winter.

For more information about the State’s work in developing the required ESSA state plan, please visit the.

The complete list of public hearings is below.

-30-

Schedule of ESSA Public Hearings

Date

Location

Time

Meeting Site

Thursday
May 11, 2017

Long Island

6:00-8:30 PM

Half Hollow Hills HS East
50 Vanderbilt Pkwy
Dix Hills, NY 11746

Monday

May 15, 2017

NYC - Staten Island

6:00-8:30 PM

The Michael J. Petrides Campus
715 Ocean Terrace
Building H, Conference Room 1
Staten Island, NY

Tuesday

May 16, 2017

NYC – Bronx

6:00-8:30 PM

Bronx Borough Hall
851 Grand Concourse
Rotunda
Bronx, NY 10451

Saturday
May 20, 2017

NYC - Manhattan

9:00-11:30 AM

Borough of Manhattan Community College
Richard Harris Terrace
199 Chambers Street
New York, NY 10007

Wednesday
May 24, 2017

Syracuse

6:00-8:30 PM

Henninger High School
600 Robinson Street
Syracuse, NY 13206

Tuesday
May 30, 2017

Rochester

6:00-8:30 PM

Rush-Henrietta Sr. High School
Sperry Building
1799 Lehigh Station Road
Henrietta, NY 14467

Thursday
June 1, 2017

Plattsburgh

6:00-8:30 PM

SUNY Plattsburgh
Yokem Lecture Hall, Room 202
101 Broad Street
Plattsburgh, NY 12901

Monday
June 5, 2017

Yonkers

6:00-8:30 PM

Lincoln High School
375 Kneeland AveYonkers, NY 10704

Tuesday
June 6, 2017

NYC – Brooklyn

6:00-8:30 PM

Prospects Heights Educational Campus
883 Classon Avenue
Auditorium
Brooklyn, NY 11225

Thursday
June 8, 2017

Buffalo

6:00-8:30 PM

Erie 1 BOCES
Building B
355 Harlem Road
West Seneca, NY 14224

Saturday
June 10, 2017

NYC – Queens

9:00-11:30 AM

Queens Borough Hall
120-55 Queens Blvd.
Hellen Marshall Atrium
Kew Gardens, NY 11424

Wednesday
June 14, 2017

Binghamton

6:00-8:30 PM

Johnson City CSD
High School Auditorium
666 Reynolds Road
Johnson City, NY 13790

Thursday
June 15, 2017

Capital District/Albany

6:00-8:30 PM

Questar III BOCES
Administrative Building Conference Center
10 Empire State Boulevard
Castleton, NY 12033