On March 18, EdTrust-New York and Educators for Excellence hosted an event, The New Presidential Administration’s First 50 Days: What We Know, What We Need to Do. Individuals and organizations who share a passion for advancing educational equity in New York State joined us at a moment when public education is under attack and students’ civil rights protections are at risk.
The video recap above features Emma Vadehra, Chief Operating Officer/Deputy Chancellor for Operations and Finance of New York City Public Schools, Evan Stone, CEO and Co-Founder of Educators for Excellence, Arlen Benjamin-Gomez, Executive Director of EdTrust-New York, Augustus Mays, Vice President for Partnerships and Engagement at EdTrust, and Marielys Divanne, Executive Director of Educators for Excellence-New York.
The speakers covered many aspects of the potential impacts that the administration’s policies have had and could have on New York State.
As discussed in the video recap, the speed and chaos of the Trump administration’s first 50 days are intentional and designed to overwhelm and distract us. In recent days, President Trump signed an executive order to ‘eliminate’ the Department of Education. While government officials claim that the critical functions of the Department of Education will remain, we must stay vigilant and not lose focus on the policies that will directly harm students and teachers.
Here are a few key takeaways from the event to keep in mind as more news unfolds, recommendations on how New York State and City leaders should take action, and how our organizations will support this work:
- To meet this moment, New York should update the Foundation Aid formula to better drive funding to the schools and districts who need it most. That includes increasing funding for Multilingual/English Language Learners and updating how the formula measures students experiencing extreme poverty. We are also working to mitigate the impact of the Governor’s proposal on New York City school funding — an issue our organizations and partners like Advocates for Children are actively negotiating with state leaders.
- The Trump administration’s far-reaching layoffs at the Department of Education have decimated the National Center for Education Statistics, which issues the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) — the only national assessment of what students know and can do. We will work with our federal and state delegations to highlight the importance of NAEP as a civil rights and accountability mechanism, continue to hold New York accountable for student achievement, and urge restoration of funding as part of a larger push around the need for a strong assessment and accountability system in New York State.
- Funding cuts to Title II could impact New York City’s promising NYC Reads and NYC Solves evidence-based curricula — both of which our organizations helped bring to NYC classrooms. We will continue to advocate for continued state and city investments to cover any potential cuts.