NYS Education Commish 'Suspends' Tuesday's Common Core Forum

New York State education commissioner John King has "suspended" Tuesday's roundtable discussion on the new Common Core standards until further notice.

The Garden City School District, in conjunction with Nassau PTA, was hosting the forum at Garden City High School. Parents and educators from across the county were invited to attend. King also called off three other forums scheduled to take place this month.

Emotions ran high at the first Town Hall held Oct. 10 at Spackenkill High School in Poughkeepsie (see video). Anna Shah, 41, a parent in the Spackenkill district, said "the meeting ended abruptly after five speakers presented, leaving at least 75 who were denied the chance to speak," according to a Poughkeepsie Journal report.

King said "the disruptions caused by the 'special interests' have deprived parents of the opportunity to listen, ask questions and offer comments," according to a Newsday report.

King, who assumed office in 2011, is the 14th commissioner of education for New York State. He is the youngest person to ever hold the position.

A statement on the New York State PTA Facebook page reads: "While our goal was to provide an opportunity to learn and share, based on review of the initial Oct. 10 meeting, the commissioner concluded the outcome was not constructive for those taking the time to attend."

Individualized score reports for children in Grades 3-8 that took the New York State English Language Arts (ELA) and math exams last spring were expected to be mailed to parents in late September.

As anticipated, since implementation of the new Common Core standards, scores were generally lower as a whole across New York State.