Brindisi Advocates to Eliminate NY's No Child Left Behind Program

President Obama has given states the option to waive the No Child Left Behind program. New York State Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi is advocating for New York State to opt out of the unfunded mandate.

Assemblyman Brindisi has sent a letter to the New York State Board of Regents to eliminate New York's No Child Left Behind program.

Now that President Obama is giving states the option to opt out of the No Child Left Behind program, Assemblyman Brindisi is pushing to get rid of the program.

As a former school board member, Mr. Brindisi says the program has negative effects, especially for area school districts here in Central New York.        

"This program, I see how its very well intentioned. But, I think it relies too much on standardized testing. What's going on in school is that teachers are teaching to the test," said Brindisi.

Brindisi says children are losing out on basic skills like problem solving and critical thinking.

"We're drilling math and reading, math and reading. What's getting lost is science, social studies, art and physical education. These are necessary skills to compete in a global economy," explained Brindisi.

Brindisi says area school districts are on board with him.

He says they also want to move away from the No Child Left Behind program. Utica City School District Superintendent Bruce Karam says the mandate is not realistic.

"We have a large population of students with disability and a large population of English as a second language or English language learners. These two subgroups are really keeping us from reaching state benchmarks," said Karam.

If the state does opt out of the program and qualifies for the waiver, schools will be allowed to design their own accountability systems. Mr. Brindisi says the Board of Regents will meet in a few weeks to look over the waiver.