State Education Commissioner John King has held several meetings with East Ramapo school district leaders to straighten out its finances, but the state has not discussed taking over the town’s school board. The school district has been the subject of a recent New York Magazine feature detailing the divisive consequences of a Hasidic school board takeover in the Rockland County district. The board has laid off teachers and cut school programs, which have compelled students to demonstrate at board meetings. King singled out the… [More]

They were furiously studying documents, debating the merits of what was on their desks for 20-hour periods last week while consuming a mix of coffee, donuts and vending machine snacks to keep them awake. Was it a group of SUNY Albany students cramming for their last round of midterms before spring break? Hardly. Legislators plowed through a flurry of budget bills during Holy Week, finishing debate in the wee hours of the morning to put a $135 billion budget that… [More]

If you could change any state law, what would it be? Steve Hawley, Republican assemblyman The SAFE Act, even though it’s one of the most recent laws—the way it was done, without public input, without public discourse and hearings; I could never support legislation that is done in the dead of night. Just the fact that I believe it violates the second amendment of the Constitution; I believe it goes against the very constituents that I represent, the vast majority of them. Any time you… [More]

The key players and issues regarding education.… [More]

State Education Commissioner John King, State Sen. John Flanagan, Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott and Councilman Robert Jackson on education.… [More]

The defining moment for the City University of New York came when it started charging tuition in 1976. Since then, faculty has dropped while faculty has risen.… [More]

Strapped school districts may create an upstate-Long Island rift over the distribution of education funding.… [More]

Democratic Senators are pushing to include the DREAM Act and DREAM Fund legislation in the budget in order to help the children of immigrants pay for higher education, but they have gained little traction. The Assembly included $25 million for an immigrants’ college fund in its budget proposal, but the Republican-controlled chamber left the item out. Sen. Adriano Espaillat said he was “optimistic” Gov. Andrew Cuomo would help pass immigration reform. “I think that it requires a push from the second floor, a leadership shown by… [More]

This year’s budget could wind up the smoothest in 30 years, cruising to passage before the session breaks for Passover and Easter holidays at the end of the month.… [More]

A lawsuit challenging the expansion of New York University received a boost yesterday when a judge agreed to review further documents that opponents say shows that the land the university plans to build on is designated park land and therefore requires the approval of the state Legislature before the expansion moves forward. As part of NYU’s plans to grow its campus, the city has designated several parcels of land on the blocks between LaGuardia Place and Mercer Street, and between… [More]