Sunday, July 03, 2022

ACTIVISTS NEED TO PUSH LEGISLATURE TO OVERIDE HOCHUL IF SHE VETOES OR POCKET VETOES LOWER CLASS SIZE BILL

The anger directed at Governor Kathy Hochul among education advocates is quite justified. Professor Diane Ravitch said Hochul is "double crossing the students, teachers, and parents of NYC" by not signing the bill to lower class sizes in NYC. Hochul is also double crossing the State Legislature by signing the bill extending  mayoral control of NYC schools while not signing the companion bill to lower class sizes. The bills were supposed to be a package.

From the NYC Public School Parents Blog:

Leonie Haimson, Executive Director of Class Size Matters said, “The fact that the Governor signed the Mayoral control bill without signing the bill that would require him to reduce class size at the same time is particularly outrageous. There can be no accountability without smaller classes for NYC kids, which the State’s highest court said were needed to provide them with their right to a sound basic education under the State’s constitution.  Smaller classes are also the top priority of K12 parents nearly every year on the DOE’s own surveys, and the class size bill passed 59-4 in the State Senate; 147-2 in the Assembly.  It is particularly outrageous that the Governor has chosen to renew the Mayor’s control unconditionally,  just at a time when he is slashing the budget for schools, causing class sizes to increase rather than decrease and students to lose critical programs and services.

NY government can be very strange. The margins were 59-4 in the Senate and 147-2 in the Assembly. By my simple math, that is way over the 2/3 margin needed to override a governor’s veto or pocket veto if the Legislature is not in session.

From the NY Senate webage:

While the Legislature is in session, the Governor has 10 days (not counting Sundays) to sign or veto bills passed by both houses. Signed bills become law; vetoed bills do not. However, the Governor's failure to sign or veto a bill within the 10-day period means that it becomes law automatically. Vetoed bills are returned to the house that first passed them, together with a statement of the reason for their disapproval. A vetoed bill can become law if two-thirds of the members of each house vote to override the Governor's veto.

If a bill is sent to the Governor when the Legislature is out of session, the rules are a bit different. At such times, the Governor has 30 days in which to make a decision, and failure to act ("pocket veto") has the same effect as a veto.

Instead of groveling before Governor Hochul to sign the class size bill, education activists should mobilize Legislative leaders to get back in session to have that override vote if Hochul refuses to sign the bill. 

Legislators showing a backbone on behalf of NYC school children more than likely won't happen so we will see mayoral control continue while our imperial Governor takes her time to decide if she should follow the will of the people's representatives and sign the bill to lower class sizes in NYC.

52 comments:

Anonymous said...

UFT
The proposed maximum class sizes in the bill passed by the state Senate and Assembly could become a reality if
@GovKathyHochul
signs the bill into law. Take action now: https://bddy.me/3aeNhrs

5 yr phase in
HS 34 ==> 25
4th - 8th 33 ==> 23
1st - 3rd 32 ==> 20

Anonymous said...

Imagine that, actually being able to teach properly, the majority of teachers able to manage and assess properly, actually implementing the IEPs, true compliance. Imagine.

Anonymous said...

We have all these problems, yet...

Your party (the Democrats) controls the House, the Senate and the White House.

You are the majority.

You don’t need a single Republican vote to do whatever you want in Congress.

In NYC, there is a supermajority plus a governor and mayor and left wing uft.

Anonymous said...

Yes, humanity has plenty of problems. Going past it, being subhuman gets you through quite quickly. With the side-effects of insurrections, shootings, massive loss of rights and erosion of ethics through degradation of media and checks on power, possible anarchy, banana regimes everywhere and an almost certain premature end of the species.

Anonymous said...

NRA

Anonymous said...

1:38 say what? Youd have to be beyond clueless to not know that Manchin and that othed pretend Democrat Sinema are obstructionist. Manchin was even a surprise, read about him before the razor thin 50/50 was won. STOP your whining.

Anonymous said...

So Republicans should get a pass for not helping to push through legislation that will help the American people. Not to mention, so many things that Biden would like to do requires 60 votes. So there's that.

Anonymous said...

I spoke to Kathy Hochul. She told me she doesn’t give a shit what I have says because I’m going to vote for her no matter how many times she tells me she doesn’t give a shit about what I have to say.

Anonymous said...

4:34 stop listening to the voices in your head. That aside, vote for whoever you want, who is trying to shove a candidate down your throat?

Anonymous said...

Hochul is partnering with the city, with beagle-swag

Anonymous said...

7:25 Stop using personal attacks like “…voices in your head”. James asked nicely.

Anonymous said...

7:53 what would you call it? you really think they spoke with Hochul?

Anonymous said...

left wing UFT? bro learn some history mulgrew was a registered Republican and the UFT and the AFT do all kinds of nasty things abroad through the AFL-CIA program

Anonymous said...

11:03 Not everything is literal. Satire for example.

Anonymous said...

Humor

Anonymous said...

There’s a lot going in here. Hochul and city holding off on reducing class sizes, city and DOE playing fast and loose with funding and funding formula, NYS Regents mulling revamping or even dumping Regents exams (since just before the pandemic hit) and likely no APPR waivers in the future for students who are pandemically unprepared, 2 1/2 years of being largely Regents-free and on mightily adjusted (NXcess) grading policies.

Anonymous said...

2:05 not satire, bad sarcasm, mocking.

Anonymous said...

I spoke to Trump. He told me he doesn’t give a shit what I have says because I’m going to vote for him no matter how many times he tells me he doesn’t give a shit about what I have to say.

Satire.

Anonymous said...

And kids see what’s been happening to NYC. They see the news on their phones.
https://nypost.com/2022/07/05/eric-adams-aide-mugged-at-gunpoint-in-nyc-sources/amp/

Anonymous said...

Did anyone else notice that today, July 5th the DOE emailed what your MOSL will be judged on?

Many people were told one thing and it’s not what is in the email.

Some teachers are going to get Ineffective and developing because of this.

Teachers have real issues that could hurt their career and people are arguing which politician hates us more.

Go to political blogs if you want to talk politics and stay on topic here.

Smaller class size would help teachers teach.



Anonymous said...


Lots of talk about the budget cuts, PEP, etc. Not class size. Nobody is talking about it. And I know some schools have had ballooning enrollment in multiple grades and ballooning numbers of ENLs.

https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2022/07/05/governor-hochul-extends-mayoral-control-of-city-school-system-for-two-years-delays-expansion-of-panel-for-education-policy/


Michael Elsen-Rooney:
Some interesting language tucked into the mayoral ctrl legislation that hasn't gotten much attention: the law now requires the PEP to hold a meeting *in the same borough* as any school that's up for a closure/merger/co-location vote: nysenate.gov/legislation/bi…

https://www.silive.com/education/2022/07/gov-hochul-signs-bill-to-extend-nyc-mayoral-control-through-2024.html?outputType=amp

https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/education/2022/07/05/one-on-one-with-new-york-city-schools-chancellor-david-banks

Anonymous said...

Trump doesn’t control ny democrats. NY democrats decide our class size, contracts and how teachers are rated. They know they have the teacher vote and until they know the teacher vote is in jeopardy they have no incentive to stop screwing us on the things they, not POTUS, control. Let go of Trump for now. Our enemies are in NY government.

Anonymous said...

Biden doesn't control them either yet people keep bringing him up

James Eterno said...

There are a couple of people who want to hijack every post to push their own agenda. I don't like censorship and have been more than tolerant. However, if you have nothing to say that relates to the posting, comment somewhere else, please. And please no one line on the post and then pivot to the personal agenda. We write plenty of posts on national issues. This is not one of them. A couple of you are just wasting your time and mine. Please stop.

Anonymous said...

Leonie Haimson

If you want to help move our schools forward not backward please sign the class size bill. Otherwise class sizes will increase next year. Our petition urging you to do so now has more than 8500 signatures.

https://t.co/0HNAWDdV8n

Anonymous said...

At least attendance doesn’t count. “I was just talking to a school today who went from having 300 kids to having now about 45 students that are actually coming in this year. It’s a dramatic loss of students, so I can’t give them the same budget they would have had otherwise,” he said.
Banks also discussed the number of weapons found in city schools during the wide-ranging interview.
“We’ve seen a very significant increase of students bringing weapons to schools, [but] not necessarily using them in schools,” he said.

Anonymous said...

I don’t think he dares even mention class size.

Soar like a beagle.

Anonymous said...

https://shorefrontnews.com/2022/07/07/colton-wants-smaller-classrooms/

Anonymous said...

Leonie Haimson:
Not only is money there for smaller classes, but they will be vital to @nycmayor planned initiatives, such as dyslexia screening.

“Those initiatives will be harder to achieve in large classes. Class size is critical for Adams to achieve his goals.”
manhattantimesnews.com/its-outrageous…

Anonymous said...

Mayor control is about the willful degradation of public education.

Keeping class sizes large makes for substandard, inferior education and it helps to justify the need for the privatization of public education.

The profit motive is strong and the harm to democracy is very great.

Much of the cultural decline in the United States can be attributed to the privatization of the public commons. Moral imbeciles like Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg love charter schools because they, like their fellow oligarch, Donald Trump, despise democracy. They are hard core elitists.

Anonymous said...

City Hall, Gov. Kathy Hochul to negotiate details of NY class size bill: Eric Adams

https://nypost.com/2022/07/07/city-hall-gov-kathy-hochul-to-negotiate-details-of-ny-class-size-bill-eric-adams/amp/

“It’s outrageous”
Advocates fret as Hochul stalls on bill to cap class sizes

https://www.manhattantimesnews.com/its-outrageouses-indignante/

Senator Liu discusses mayoral control and class size legislation at CEC 25 meeting

https://qns.com/2022/07/senator-liu-mayoral-class-size-legislation-cec-25/

Anonymous said...

Maybe THIS time if you vote for the democrat candidate in Albany, she’ll lower class size. It’s not like last time. Or the time before that or the time before that time. THIS TIME is different. I’m sure they won’t screw us THIS TIME.

Anonymous said...

Leonie Haimson

.@nycmayor said he’d like to focus efforts on struggling schools.

“Let’s make sure we reduce class sizes in those schools that are in need of smaller classes because they’re hurting academically” So why is he increasing class size in those schools too?

Anonymous said...

Yes, we work within machines against or for other machines. Next comment.

Anonymous said...

Diane Ravitch (education historian, former US Assistant Secretary of Education)

NYC teachers criticize massive school budget cuts. Is NYC Mayor Adams cutting public school budgets to benefit charter schools? Charter billionaires contributed generously to his campaign.

Anonymous said...

https://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2022/07/mayor-adams-calls-protestors-clowns-and.html?m=1

^Leonie Haimson

How @NYCMayor Adams called protestors "clowns" & wrongly blamed Albany for FSF & his budget cuts to schools - incl transcript of his remarks

Susan Edelman

The mayor repeats: "We are paying 100% of Fair Student Funding." He fails to acknowledge that the DOE has CUT the per-pupil FSF allotment for every student across-the-board, including the disabled. This per-student cut is on top of reductions due to enrollment losses.

Anonymous said...

“$215M cut didn’t include additional slashes to school budgets based on next yr’s projected enrollment losses, which raise total school budget reduction to $372M, according @bradlander” but actually total Galaxy cuts are way over $1B as of today.

Leonie Haimson on Daily News article NYC Ed Dept projects student enrollment will drop by another 30,000

Anonymous said...

"I don't like censorship, but I will do it."
Let the adults figure it out on their own.

Anonymous said...

Michael Elsen-Rooney
Daily News

Projections also give a preview of what the system will look like if, as DOE expects, enrollment keeps falling sharply.

For ex., DOE projecting 243 schools next yr w/ under 200 students, up from 129 in 2019-20.

Anonymous said...

Well no shit @2:01. Since you fools are claiming it's satire, I used the same satire piece and changed the name. Not satire when the name is changed, eh? Idiot.

Anonymous said...

1:41 and 2:44 you make a good case for not focusing on class size reduction.

Anonymous said...

Wrong, the whole point is the time is now to do it! It requires more teachers, more space, more money. Impossible to do it and cut budgets like they plan.

Anonymous said...

8:18 ok Captain Obvious. I think we all know that budget cuts will affect class size planning. Duh. BUT your post keeps pointing out students are not enrolling. Thats the argument the opposition is making. So I was being sarcastic that youre making the argument for them. Lol.

Anonymous said...

Low enrollment, perfect time to reduce class size, don’t you see?! Wouldn’t be such a jolt, granted it rolls in over 5 yrs. And low enrollment now doesn’t mean it’ll stay low over those years, esp. once the schools start looking more appealing, responsive, etc.

Anonymous said...

I’m afraid you just have to read between the lines.

Anonymous said...

Low enrollment, perfect. But stop excessing and cutting the budget to help turn that into lower class size by design. The extra funding of 1.6B per year is likely not enough.

Anonymous said...

Class size involves inclusion and compliance

Michael Elsen-Rooney on Twitter:

None of these problems are new, + some advocates say they won’t be solved until DOE rethinks entire model of segregating students w/ emotional disabilities.

DOE Dep. Chancellor @QCarolyneQ1 said “inclusion is the direction we want to go” but D75 will still play a role.

But the direct experiences + observations of kids + parents say more than the stats.

“I feel in my heart they don’t know what to do with these kids, so they gave up on them,” said the mom of one recent grad.

New: I spoke w/ 10 families + educators about dire conditions for students w/ emotional disabilities in NYC’s Dist. 75, incl frequent violence + threadbare academic/extracurricular options.

It’s “like they’re institutionalized,” one staffer said.

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-emotional-disabilities-district-75-pipeline-for-failure-20220717-27lssmftpjfkdfuyetlb6cpec4-story.html

Anonymous said...

Deformers don’t like to address this, because basically they don’t. Testing doesn’t. Screening doesn’t.

Anonymous said...

1:06 deformer doesn't mean what you think it means.

Anonymous said...

Don’t feed the 🧌

Anonymous said...

Don't worry @ 7:12, we won't feed you. We might stick a pacifier in your mouth tho.

Anonymous said...

John C. Liu
Reducing class sizes is not an unfunded mandate. The state is at long last fully funding foundation aid with $1.6B every year so NYC can provide a sound basic education for our kids. Spoke w/ @errollouis about how @nycschools can and should make it happen.