Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) is urging State Education Department officials to expand the number of education summits discussing the controversial teacher evaluation system passed in the State Budget. The event, being held Thursday in Albany, is invitation-only, only 200 tickets are available, and is the only one of its kind.

“This isn’t a topic we’re going to be able to solve in one afternoon,” Friend said. “When our conference put together the education reforms in the APPLE Plan, we held 14 forums all across the state. The State Education Department would need to perform at least that many summits to have a deep enough understanding of the teacher evaluation issues. These evaluations are a serious problem, and they have to start treating them that way.”

Friend voted against the Education Budget Bill and explained his vote on the Assembly Floor here. He is also a sponsor of the APPLE Plan, Assembly Bill 3656, which would put a two-year moratorium on the implementation of Common Core, among other reforms. This measure was held in the Assembly Education Committee last month by the Majority.