The Coalition for Transparency in Public Education ("the Coalition") is a nascent organization of professionals, parents and parent groups, and members of the public advocating for educational integrity, effectiveness, and safety for all children in New York State. As such, it believes that sunlight is the best disinfectant: informed decision-making a mutual goal best serving all parties involved.

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) is a large, complex state agency with a reputation for creating overly-complicated - and often incomprehensible - rules, regulations and operating procedures, while operating a decision-making process which is obscure, at best, and often completely lacking in transparency. This lack of transparency, combined with a bureaucratic resistance to receiving legitimate parental and public input on various aspects of NYSED's functioning have had a devastating impact on students with disabilities within the last six months alone.

The Coalition's co-founders are Jo Anne Simon, Dee Alpert, and Leslie Packer. READ MORE...   Our first briefing memo that outlines our concerns about transparency and about two specific issues is available here [pdf].