Assemblymember Charles Lavine (D-North Shore) accused the Oct. 31 rally held by Long Island officials and state lawmakers of falsely characterizing a state takeover of public education.
In a letter to Long Island superintendents, Lavine referred to the rally as “nothing more and nothing less than political theater designed to frighten the public.”
“When I learned that the Republicans had invited members of school boards to this rally they had on the 31st, I was not pleased, to say the least,” Lavine said in an interview with Schneps Media Long Island. “I don’t believe that school districts should engage in politics.”
School and local officials spoke out against the state Education Department’s regionalization initiative on Halloween. At the rally, state Assembly Member Jake Blumencranz and state Sen. Jack Martins introduced the Our Schools, Our Rules Act.
“The regionalization plan proposed by NYSED is just another attack on our local communities.” Martins tweeted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “This is not about educating kids. It is about promoting state top-down control that will destroy our quality of life.”
Lavine pushed back on the argument against state control in his letter.
“There is no such danger. There is no such threat,” Lavine wrote. “The rally may as well have been called to warn of the impending approach of the menacing tag team of Bigfoot and the Sasquatch.”
According to the NYSED, it is a collaborative regional planning approach that allows local districts to communicate what they must do to address student needs and operational efficiencies. It is grounded in a process of periodic needs assessment and cross-district conversations.
While critics have said that regionalization will force school district compliance, Lavine argues that no language in the proposal states that.
“I’m sure that some of the people are genuinely concerned about the loss of local control. However, that concern is not founded.” Lavine said. “The state department makes it clear that no one is going to be required to engage in this program.”
The initiative requires preliminary information from each district, which is due on Dec. 6, according to the NYSED website. In addition, final regional plans covering all the districts are due by Oct. 1, 2025, and the regional plan implementation will begin in the fall of 2026, according to the website.
Lavine confirmed that he has communicated with Regents representative Roger Tiles, although he did not describe the conversation’s specifics.
“Roger and I are old friends, and we have communicated recently, “Lavine said.
Lavine represents New York’s 13th District in Nassau County. He serves as Chair of the Judiciary Committee and is a member of the Committees on Codes, Ethics and Guidance, Insurance and Rules.
