The NY State Assembly and Senate ended Friday without voting on the bill to abolish the SHSAT despite being pushed vigorously by the Mayor and members of the Assembly.

With days left to the session, the bill was called to conference on the floor of the Assembly, a move that is reserved for the most controversial issues. A contentious debate ensued among the Assembly members. Two days later the Assembly Education Committee voted to move the bill for a floor vote. Supporters of the exam including alumni and parents emailed, called and visited legislators continuously up until the end of the session to stop a vote on the bill. Chancellor Carranza was in Albany personally to push for a vote. In the end, it remained in the Rules Committee, the final step before coming to a floor vote.

POLITICO PRO  6/17/2019   .... "The powerful opposition campaigns can't be overlooked. A pro-test group of parents and alumni, many of whom represent Asian American students who make up large portions of elite schools' enrollment, have quietly but consistently filled the Capitol's corners throughout session with signs and royal blue T-shirts reading, "Keep SHSAT," an acronym for the test's formal name, the Specialized High School Admissions Test. That group, the Scholastic Merit Fund, is represented by the Parkside Group, a prominent lobbying group, and argues that the current system rewards hard work and maintains the schools' prestige."

Last June when the Mayor announced his bill to eliminate the SHSAT, the SMF began to prepare for this legislative session. Next January the effort to eliminate the exam is sure to continue, perhaps in another version, but we must be prepared again.

We used many resources this past year and we will need them again for the year ahead. Please go to MeritFund.org to donate and show your support for the tireless volunteers who are preserving achievement and merit in our schools.