AQE Responds to Janus v. AFSCME Decision

ALBANY, N.Y. (June 27, 2018) — Today, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 that public-sector unions cannot require employees to pay union fees. For schools, that means that school districts will no longer be able to require their employees that are not dues paying members to pay fees to the … Continue reading AQE Responds to Janus v. AFSCME Decision

Achieving Racial Justice at New York City’s Specialized High Schools Should Remain A Top Priority

ALBANY, NY (June 8, 2018) — The admissions policies to New York City’s specialized high schools has been long debated. The outcome of the single test admission policy has led to an underrepresentation of Black and Latino students at the specialized high schools. Although there is agreement on the problem, the lack of agreement on … Continue reading Achieving Racial Justice at New York City’s Specialized High Schools Should Remain A Top Priority

AQE Agrees With Cuomo That Racial Disparities Exist In School Funding — But Disparities Are The Result Of His Budgets

ALBANY, N.Y. (June 5, 2018) — Today, as reported in a reporter’s tweet, Andrew Cuomo said that he wants to see if there is school inequity, predicting that whiter, wealthier schools get more funding. And he said he wants to know what to do about it. This is after eight years of consistently refusing to … Continue reading AQE Agrees With Cuomo That Racial Disparities Exist In School Funding — But Disparities Are The Result Of His Budgets

Parents, Students & Advocates Demand Positive School Climate & Updates to Codes of Conduct

New York State Leaders Need to Step Up, in Wake of Trump Proposed Rollbacks ALBANY, N.Y. (June 5, 2018) — Today, members of the New York Safe and Supportive SchoolsCoalition held a press conference at the Million Dollar Staircase at the State Capitol in Albany. Representatives of the coalition spoke to the importance of New … Continue reading Parents, Students & Advocates Demand Positive School Climate & Updates to Codes of Conduct

AQE’s Zakiyah Ansari Nominates Cynthia Nixon as Democratic Candidate for Governor

NEW YORK, NY (May 23, 2018) — At the New York Democratic Convention on Wednesday, Alliance for Quality Education Advocacy Director Zakiyah Ansari nominated gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon to become the State Democratic party’s candidate for New York governor. Ms. Ansari’s remarks at the convention focused on inequity and underfunding in New York’s public schools, … Continue reading AQE’s Zakiyah Ansari Nominates Cynthia Nixon as Democratic Candidate for Governor

Mayor de Blasio Takes Important Step Toward Educational Equity, Even as Cuomo Continues to Blockade

NEW YORK, NY (April 25, 2018) — Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today that New York City will ensure that no school receives less than 90 percent of their Fair Student Funding (FSF), which prioritizes the funding of high-need schools in the city. In response, the Alliance for Quality Education and New York City Coalition … Continue reading Mayor de Blasio Takes Important Step Toward Educational Equity, Even as Cuomo Continues to Blockade

Governor Cuomo’s Budget Fails Black, Brown & Low-Income Students Again

ALBANY, NY (March 30, 2018) — New York State today announced a 2018 education budget that includes only an $859 million overall school aid increase including only $618 million in Foundation Aid (these are the increases included on the school aid runs). In addition, Governor Cuomo insisted on taking an unprecedented level of control of … Continue reading Governor Cuomo’s Budget Fails Black, Brown & Low-Income Students Again

Governor Cuomo Manufactures His Own Facts on School Equity

ALBANY, NY (March 23, 2018) — Today on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show, Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is facing a Democratic primary against school funding champion Cynthia Nixon, publicly argued against increasing funding for high need schools statewide. “Governor Andrew Cuomo is wrong when he says no one is having a conversation about educational equity in … Continue reading Governor Cuomo Manufactures His Own Facts on School Equity

Report: Impact of Funding Discrepancies on Educational Opportunities in Peekskill & Scarsdale

NEW YORK, NY (March 23, 2018) — The Alliance for Quality Education released a new report analyzing the effect of inequitable school funding on educational opportunities available to students, comparing two adjacent public school districts — one low income and high need, and one wealthy — in Westchester County to illustrate the impact on students. … Continue reading Report: Impact of Funding Discrepancies on Educational Opportunities in Peekskill & Scarsdale

New Data Shows Record Level School Inequities: Gap Between Wealthiest & Poorest Students Has Grown Under Cuomo

ALBANY, NY (March 20, 2018) — The public school advocacy organization Alliance for Quality Education released new data showing that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s education policies have created a record gap in education spending between the wealthiest and poorest school districts in New York, an astounding 24% growth in inequity over his time in office to … Continue reading New Data Shows Record Level School Inequities: Gap Between Wealthiest & Poorest Students Has Grown Under Cuomo