ALBANY, N.Y. Aug. 16, 2017 — New York State United Teachers released the following statement on Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa and Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia’s critique of proposed new regulations for charter school teachers. Both today lambasted a SUNY Charter Schools Committee proposal to undermine teacher certification standards for some charter networks.
“Chancellor Rosa and Commissioner Elia understand that teaching is an exalted profession requiring passion, skill, dedication, knowledge and, perhaps most notably, extensive preparation. There should be no E-Z Pass to certification for those who wish to teach in charter schools. It is, indeed, wrong that the charter industry wishes to certify teachers with less training than a new driver needs to obtain a license.
“NYSUT agrees with Chancellor Rosa and Commissioner Elia. It’s insulting.”
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.