Increasing Minority Access to the Professions
Purpose: To serve as a foundation for subsequent legislative, budgetary and policy initiatives that will form the framework for an assault on the problem of underrepresentation of minorities in the professions.
Excerpt: The Regents are committed to the elimination of barriers which impede the educational development of any person. While the Regents have made this commitment known in a number of statements and legislative proposals, and have witnessed some progress toward achieving greater access for minorities and disadvantaged populations, there still exists a severe underrepresentation of minorities in the licensed professions.
The Regents strongly endorse the premise that equal educational opportunity in programs that lead to licensure is a right of all New York State residents. Also, the Regents recognize that minorities and other disadvantaged groups have been historically - and continue to be - denied equal education access and subsequently equal opportunity to participate in the mainstream of American life.
The Regents recognize that New York State and the nation have a practical as well as a moral stake in achieving the goal of equal opportunity for minorities in professional education programs and ultimately professional practice. In the interest of all New Yorkers, we commit ourselves to this goal. We have studied and talked about the problem too long; the time for action is now.
Date: February 1984
Program Area: Higher and Professional Education
Regents Action Plan to Improve Elementary and Secondary Education Results in New York
Purpose: To ensure that every student in New York State has the opportunity to: master communication and computation skills; learn the methods of inquiry and knowledge gained through the English language and literature, history and social science, mathematics, natural science, and language and literature in at least one foreign language, and to use this knowledge in interdisciplinary applications; acquire knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the artistic, cultural, and intellectual accomplishments of civilization and develop skills to express personal artistic talents; learn about political, economic, and social institutions and procedures in the United States and other countries; respect and practice basic civil values and acquire the skills, knowledge, understanding and attitudes necessary to participate in a democratic government; develop the ability to understand, accept, and respect people of different races, genders, abilities, cultural heritages, national origins, religions, and political, economic, and social backgrounds and their values, beliefs, and attitudes; understand the ecological consequences of choices in the use of environment and natural resources; develop general career skills, attitudes and work habits and make a self-assessment of career prospects; gain the knowledge, skills and attitudes to develop self-esteem; be able to maintain physical, mental and emotional health; understand the ill-effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; and develop a commitment to lifetime learning along with the skills to combine new knowledge and experience with the known.
Excerpt: This Action Plan is addressed to the task of anticipating future needs and obligations for New Yorkers. Our Plan centers on the standards which reflect best judgment of what our children must know and be able to do in their 21st Century lifetime. The Plan is built upon an extensive two-year review and appraisal of existent goals and on assessment on the most important priorities to address for the future. It focuses on purposes of education, all stated in terms of student performance. It is a framework with which we hope each student, teacher, board member, administrator, parent or other participant in education in New York can find better clarity of expectation and common purpose for more effective achievement. The Plan increases substantially requirements for elementary and secondary education. It does so with the dual objective that, as we raise objectives, we continue to assure access to educational opportunity for those who may need special help, extra time, particular assistance, or patient help to realize their full potential. The Plan also strives to ensure that all students have equal access to all curricular and all extra-curricular activities in a school's program.
This Action Plan is based on the assumption that concerted actions to improve pupil performance will be effective and efficient only if the goals and expectations of educators, parents, and other interested citizens at all levels of the State education system fit together. Improvements in education cannot be effected by action at only one level of educational governance. The Regents and the Department, through the Action Plan, establish a full set of goals for education and a range of expectations for individual schools. The challenge that remains is to build on the constructive collaboration established in forming the Action Plan...
Date: March 1984
Program Area: Elementary and Secondary Education
Joint Policy Analysis Project on Cooperative Services for Handicapped Students
Purpose: To establish a cooperative approach to delivering occupational education, special education and vocational rehabilitation services to students with handicapping conditions.
Excerpt: In October of 1983, a task force was appointed by the respective Assistant Commissioners of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Office of Occupational and Continuing Education, and the Office for Education of Children with Handicapping Conditions to continue and expand upon the joint efforts first undertaken in 1979 and 1980 to increase the level of communication and cooperation in providing comprehensive vocational services to handicapped students. As part of the effort to strengthen the linkages among these Offices and associated regional and local programs, the task force was assigned the task of analyzing the policy, funding, and programmatic guidelines of these Offices in order to make recommendations to improve access and opportunities for handicapped students to participate in meaningful occupational education experiences.
A model of cooperative service delivery plan has been developed which would increase the level of coordination among the Offices, field staff and local school personnel providing services to handicapped students.
Date: March 1984
Program Area: Elementary and Secondary Education
Program Directions for Occupational Education in New York State
Purpose: To provide a common core of skills and knowledge essential to all individuals in their personal, family, home, community and work responsibilities at the elementary and/or junior high school level; to provide a broad range of knowledge and skills common to all areas of home/family and employment at the high school level; to provide specialized occupational education in the eleventh and twelfth grades; to update and redesign all areas of occupational education to provide maximum preparation for anticipated job demands and broad career alternatives; and to strengthen achievement standards and accountability through new curriculum materials and a statewide testing program.
Excerpt: The new program directions for occupational education as defined in the Regents Action Plan are primarily for students in grades 7 through 12. However, two specific core skills will be part of the new elementary school curriculum approved by the Board of Regents in the Action Plan. They include keyboarding to be taught as part of the language arts curriculum, and computer literacy to be taught as part of the language curricula, where appropriate, with special emphasis in mathematics.
Date: September 1984
Program Area: Elementary and Secondary Education
The Regents Statewide Plan for the Development of Postsecondary Education in New York State, 1984 ---
Volumes I, II and III
Purpose: To define and differentiate the missions and objectives of higher education; identify the needs, problems, societal conditions and interests of the citizens of the State of New York to which programs of higher education may most appropriately be addressed; define and differentiate the missions and objectives of institutions of higher education; develop programs to meet the needs, solve the problems, affect the conditions and respond to the public's interests by setting goals, describing the time needed to meet those goals, identifying the resources needed to achieve the goals, and establishing priorities; enable all participants in the planning process, representatives of the people and the citizens themselves to evaluate the needs, objectives, program proposals, priorities, costs and results of higher education; optimize the use of resources; and evaluate the program effectiveness.
Excerpt: The people of New York now have a high degree of access to a wide variety of excellent postsecondary educational programs of study. The Regents top priority in this Plan is to extend that access further, in order to provide equal opportunity for postsecondary education for all New Yorkers. We must enhance opportunities for the poor, members of minority groups, persons with disabilities, women, and adults, not only to participate in higher education but to give them the assistance they need to ensure successful completion of their studies. At the same time, we must ensure that excellence is maintained in our colleges and universities and that New York State's preeminence in higher education is retained. We must make certain as well that this system is responsive to the economic, cultural, and social needs of the State.
The Regents and the Education Department will continue to exercise vigilance in the application of standards for programs of study. The institutions will strive to fulfill their mission of instruction, research, and public service. The Governor and the Legislature must assure that adequate resources are available to our colleges to maintain and enhance excellence, and to provide access to higher education to those who seek it.
Date: October 1984
Program Area: Higher and Professional Education
Educational Elements of a Comprehensive State Policy on Aging
Purpose: To provide education and training opportunities for older persons; to enhance the coordination of services for the elderly; to involve the elderly as active participants in society; to educate students at all levels about aging; to train needed professional, paraprofessional and informal service providers for older persons; and to increase the research potential of postsecondary institutions to address the needs of the elderly.
Excerpt: The aging of New York State's population poses both a challenge and an opportunity for our major institutions. Not only will the number of elderly persons requiring services continue to increase - persons 60 years of age and older are growing faster than any other age group - but the demand will require increased diversification in those services.
The challenge facing educators is to develop a comprehensive strategy to mobilize the capacity of the educational system to address the multiple needs of an aging population in the context of existing social and economic conditions. The proposed strategy is based on three capacities of the State's educational system: research, instruction, and service.
The policy statement suggests a number of program options to implement each policy direction.
Date: November 1986
Program Area: Departmentwide
Increasing High School Completion Rates: A Framework for State and Local Action
Purpose: To provide suggested strategies for State and local action to increase high school completion rates.
Excerpt: All children can learn. This statement is axiomatic for the Board of Regents and the staff of the State Education Department. At the core of our efforts to improve education is the belief that regardless of race, sex, family situation, community conditions, or physical handicap, all children can learn. Our belief in the capacity of children to learn has evolved naturally into a belief that all children can complete high school and that the State Education Department and each local education agency and school in the State must dedicate resources toward assuring that this goal is achieved. This belief has served as the framework for our developing a statewide strategy for increasing high school completions.
There must be a constant evolution in the way schools are organized and structured, the content of curriculum, the modes of delivering instruction, and the types of support provided to different students. Students and communities from which they come are not static. They are constantly changing and schools must change with them.
The Working Paper presents suggested strategies for State and local action. It describes some of the elements that are instrumental to these strategies and gives examples of programs that implement these elements. Based on a review of local programs, it identifies areas where additional action may be necessary and makes specific proposals concerning State action.
Date: April 1987
Program Area: Elementary and Secondary Education
The Developing Teacher: Statewide Review of Master's Degree Programs in Elementary Education, 1985-1987
Purpose: To ensure that teacher education programs have the components that enable them to prepare teachers who have strong backgrounds in the liberal arts and sciences and the pedagogical skills to be effective in the classroom with students from diverse backgrounds and with diverse characteristics.
Excerpt: Elementary school teachers play a pivotal role in our turbulent society. The extent to which they fulfill their responsibilities has a crucial relationship to the well-being of the nation. Programs that seek to influence the professional orientation and sharpen the skills of elementary school teachers, therefore, are a significant national resource.
In 1985, the New York State Education Department initiated a statewide review of all master's degree programs in elementary education. The purposes of this review were to insure the quality of the programs and to develop a better understanding of master's degree study in this field. While general elementary education was the focus of the plurality of the programs included in this review, seven focused exclusively on early childhood education, 13 on bilingual education, and 49 on the teaching of specific subjects in elementary or middle schools.
As planning for the review proceeded, it became clear that there were major challenges facing those seeking to improve master's-level study for elementary school teachers.
The need for strong master's degree programs is clear: they are a critical component in the preparation of New York's teaching force.
Date: December 1987
Program Area: Higher and Professional Education
The Regents Statewide Plan for the Development of Postsecondary Education in New York State, 1988
Purpose: To define and differentiate the missions and objectives of higher education; identify the needs, problems, societal conditions and interests of the citizens of the State of New York to which programs of higher education may most appropriately be addressed; define and differentiate the missions and objectives of institutions of higher education; develop programs to meet the needs, solve the problems, affect the conditions and respond to the public's interests by setting goals, describing the time needed to meet those goals, identifying the resources needed to achieve the goals, and establishing priorities; enable all participants in the planning process, representatives of the people and the citizens themselves to evaluate the needs, objectives, program proposals, priorities, costs and results of higher education; optimize the use of resources; and evaluate the program effectiveness.
Excerpt: The Statewide Plan for the Development of Postsecondary Education 1988 identifies key issues confronting New York's unique system of higher education.
... the Regents set forth the actions they urge New York's colleges and universities to take, the actions they and the Education Department will undertake, and their recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature that address the four issues around which this Plan is organized: Assuring Full Participation in Society for all New Yorkers, Enhancing the Quality of Life for New York State Residents, Assisting in the Economic Resurgence of New York State, and Making the Most Effective Use of Resources.
Date: October 1988
Program Area: Higher and Professional Education
Bilingual Education: Regents Policy Paper and Proposed Action Plan for Bilingual Education
Purpose: To give all students in New York State the opportunity to become fully bilingual, and knowledgeable about and sensitive to other cultures.
Excerpt: The Policy Paper establishes New York State as a leader in recognizing the needs of students with limited English proficiency and in recognizing that native languages other than English are a valuable resource. It provides the State with a long-range vision of bilingual proficiency, not only for native speakers of languages other than English, but for all New Yorkers.
The Regents recognize that New York State and the nation have a practical as well as a moral stake in achieving equal educational opportunity for limited English proficient and language minority students. In the interest of all New Yorkers, we commit ourselves to this goal.
Date: December 1988
Program Area: Elementary and Secondary Education
The Regents Bill of Rights for Children
Purpose: To proclaim the conditions in which children and adolescents should enjoy in the Decade of the Child and beyond.
Excerpt: The Regents Bill of Rights for Children proclaims the conditions which children and adolescents should enjoy in the Decade of the Child and beyond. If the young people of New York State are to attain the educational goals set forth in the Regents Action Plan, these conditions must prevail.
... the Regents assert their intention to pursue these conditions for all the children of our State. Although this document confers no actual rights or entitlements, it does reflect the policy goal of the Board. Through their legislative program, through regulatory action, and through collaborative effort with people and institutions throughout the State, the Regents will attempt to secure these rights for all the children of the State of New York.
Date: March 1989
Program Area: Elementary and Secondary Education
A Comprehensive Policy for Approaching Proprietary School Issues
Purpose: To improve the management, educational quality and oversight of proprietary schools.
Excerpt: While no single action can bring about a quality system of vocational education for students in these schools, a carefully thought out system of incentives, directives and actions which are taken in the context of the overall goals for adult occupational education in New York State can have a beneficial impact on the nature of vocational training programs in proprietary vocational schools and can contribute to the improvement of all adult occupational education in New York State.
The paper proposes a set of strategies to deal with the problems and issues related to proprietary vocational schools. The logic and justification for the adoption of these strategies form the main substance of this paper.
Date: March 1989
Program Area: Higher and Continuing Education
Regents Policy Statement on Middle-level Education and Schools with Middle-level Grades
Purpose: To provide school districts with the opportunity to develop and implement innovative, alternative middle-level educational experiences.
Excerpt: The New York State Board of Regents is committed to better beginnings and stronger completions for all elementary and secondary school students.
The Regents believe that middle-level education is different from education in the elementary grades and education in the high school. It is different in that its students are experiencing a unique life phase, the change from childhood to adolescence. In addition, middle-level education provides the transition between the self-contained classroom of the elementary school and the departmentalized structure of the high school. This is not to imply that there are not commonalities among the three levels of schooling. Rather, it means that what is provided in the elementary or high school grades is not necessarily appropriate for children in the middle-level grades. Schools should not simply impose an elementary or high school orientation and structure on middle-level students, but should look carefully at the needs of middle-level students and the organization of middle-level education.
Date: March 1989
Program Area: Elementary and Secondary Education
Policy Statement to Ensure All Diploma Recipients are Prepared for Immediate Employment and/or
Postsecondary Education
Purpose: To ensure that all graduates are prepared for immediate employment and/or postsecondary education by strengthening standards established by the Regents Action Plan.
Excerpt: Youth who lack the ability to succeed in employment and/or postsecondary education will face their adult years with their self-esteem and economic status placed in jeopardy. To rectify this condition, the Board of Regents is aware of the need to take action to strengthen the standards established by the Regents Action Plan and subsequent Commissioner's Regulations. Such action must ensure that all graduates are prepared for immediate employment and/or postsecondary education.
The Board of Regents should adopt the following policy statement: All recipients of a local or Regents diploma should be prepared for immediate employment and/or postsecondary education.
The implementation of this policy will require that a series of policy questions be addressed. It is proposed that a broad cross-section of educators, parents, students, business leaders, and board of education members be invited to address [some] policy questions.
Date: April 1989
Program Area: Elementary and Secondary Education
A Statement of Policy and Recommended Actions for Educating Children and Youth Placed At-Risk
Purpose: To ensure that "all students shall complete a quality secondary school program and successfully assume roles as self-sufficient adults in society."
Excerpt: The central theme of the Paper is that all students shall complete a quality secondary school program and successfully assume roles as self-sufficient adults in society. We must ensure that no performance gap exists between any subgroups, especially between those of high and low socioeconomic status and between those of different ethnic backgrounds, which may be attributable to the instructional program, instruction or lack of support services. The Board of Regents maintains that equity and excellence must guide the mission of the schools in New York State for all pupils.
Date: July 1989
Program Area: Elementary and Secondary Education
Linking Services for Individuals with Disabilities
Purpose: To focus on systemic changes that ensure a seamless transition of students with disabilities from school to a broad array of postschool outcomes, including increased options to participate fully in postsecondary education, community living and employment.
Excerpt: ... individuals with disabilities experience difficulty in obtaining employment and in transitioning from the elementary, middle and secondary education system to other segments of the educational system designed to support them in obtaining employment and participating fully in society.
To overcome those difficulties, systemic linkages must be developed to provide a smooth transition from elementary, middle and secondary education programs to other segments of the educational system. If these systemic linkages are to be established, the Department must clearly define the complex problems facing individuals with disabilities as they transition from secondary school programs; determine policies to address the identified problems; develop and implement a plan to carry out these policies; and design a means of evaluating the effectiveness of these actions.
Date: June 1990
Program Area: Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities, Elementary and Secondary Education, Higher and Professional Education
Long-Range Plan for Technology in Elementary and Secondary Education in New York State
Purpose: To address the following technology applications in a more comprehensive manner: instructional applications of technology to directly support the teaching/learning environment, such as using word processing and databases across subjects; instructional support applications of technology to enhance the interaction between students and resources such as libraries and guidance services; and management applications of technology to manage human and material resources of the school, including instructional, personnel and financial applications.
Excerpt: ... our world continues to change rapidly and the information age is upon us. Industries remaining competitive have vigorously embraced the new information and management technologies. Their use of these new computer-based technologies is critical to economic survival. Within the education sector, it is no longer debatable that technology must be integrated into all school-related operations. This Long-Range Plan begins to address this great need in New York State. Pervasive integration of appropriate technology within all levels of our educational system is the goal of this Long-Range Plan.
Date: June 1990
Program Area: Elementary and Secondary Education
Regents Policy on the Congruence between Instructional Support Services and Core Classroom Programs
Purpose: To ensure that every child has access to and participates in an integrated core program that focuses on common learner outcomes.
Excerpt: The policy paper addresses the problem of program fragmentation and student failure in the core program. The congruence process is proposed as an alternative. Congruence focuses on the alignment of curriculum and instruction (articulation) and the cooperative planning between the developmental classroom teachers and professional support staff (coordination).
This policy paper formally adopts the congruence process, and recommends specific strategies for ensuring shared student learning outcomes and ongoing coordination and articulation among all support services and classroom developmental programs.
Date: September 1990
Program Area: Elementary, Middle and Secondary Education