On November 22, 2024, in Nassau County, Long Island, the county executive, several state legislators, school board members, and parents joined together in a rally on November 21 to oppose the Regionalization Plan proposed by the New York State Education Department. The majority of protesting parents at the event were Chinese, holding signs that read “No Regionalization” to voice their opposition.
On September 9, the New York State Board of Regents passed an emergency regulation regarding education regionalization, aiming to expand student opportunities and reduce regional disparities through school district cooperation, addressing issues such as teacher recruitment, advanced curriculum offerings, and funding. The implementation of the regional plan is set to commence in the fall of 2026. The New York State Education Department has utilized an emergency regulation to collect initial data using a tool known as Strengths & Weaknesses Tool.
Concerns have been raised by representatives and parents in Nassau County, home to one of the top-quality school districts in the United States, that the Education Regionalization Plan would force districts to share resources and services, potentially diminishing the resources and educational quality in the high-performing Long Island districts.
County Executive Bruce Blakeman of Nassau County, speaking at the rally, emphasized that students choose Nassau County on Long Island due to having “the best schools and top-notch education in America,” but the state’s regionalization plan would “destroy the schools in Nassau County.” He stated, “We will not stand idly by and let the Education Department destroy our districts. Nassau and Suffolk Counties contribute 7 billion dollars to the state, far exceeding what we receive. We are their cash cow, their piggy bank, they should respect us.”
Bruce Blakeman mentioned that Governor Hochul is not in support of education regionalization, so “we hope she works to ensure this does not happen, utilizing her veto power to ensure the regionalization plan falls through.”
Margaret Marchand, chair of the Locust Valley Central School District Board of Education, and founding member of the Coalition of School Board Members formed in 2021, has been advocating for schools’ independence. She expressed shock at the concept of regionalization, stating, “This would be a complete shift of power that we currently possess.”
Fourteen school districts on Long Island have filed lawsuits seeking injunctions to stop the regional plan, which allows a regional superintendent to mandate certain adjustments or changes within districts.
State Senator Jack Martins introduced the “Our School Our Rule Act” (S9944) in the state senate to prevent the enforced implementation of regionalization. He stated, “Any regional plan must be completed with the consent of every voluntary participating school board.”
Long Island boasts some of the top school districts in the nation and in the state of New York. North Hempstead, one of the three major towns in Nassau County, had Mayor DeSeve proclaim that the top ten ranked schools in New York are all located within the town; Senator Martins also noted that out of the top 20 ranked districts in New York, 12 are within his seventh district.
The Great Neck Public Schools’ Board of Education penned a letter to the New York State Education Department, expressing significant concerns raised by the regionalization plan among school board members, administrative staff, and the community, fearing that it may jeopardize local control over schools or redistribute taxpayers’ money and resources to other areas. The board urged the Education Department to amend the wording of the provision to clarify that participation is voluntary and will not result in penalties for non-compliance.
Numerous Chinese parents attended the protest rally. One anonymous Chinese parent emphasized that Chinese parents, who value education highly, moved to Long Island for their children’s education. Property taxes in Long Island school districts are high, around $20,000 annually, with the local government reinvesting the revenue into the districts. If regionalization is implemented, local educational resources will be shared, teachers will be reassigned, a situation which local parents are not likely to agree with. Many Chinese parents united to protest against this proposed change.
Mimi Xu, a Chinese parent from Great Neck Town, stated, “This is our tax money, we have a say, don’t touch our children.”