Pataki Seeks Shift in Oversight of Professions
Proposes Restructuring of Regents, SED

By Jay Dismukes

ALBANY—Vowing to shake up the state’s education system, New York Gov. George E. Pataki has called for the transfer of the Office of the Professions, which regulates approximately 40 professions, including accounting, from under the purview of the State Education Department (SED).

During his Jan. 8 “State of the State” address, Pataki said the governance of the professions should be overseen by the Department of State instead, allowing the SED to refocus on its core mission of education.

“…Let’s let the Department of State deal with the testing and licensing of these and nearly 40 other unrelated professions—not the Department of Education. Let’s let them concentrate on the education of our children,” the governor said during the address.

Under the current structure, the SED, as directed by the board of regents, administers professional regulation through the Office of rected by the Board of Regents, administers professional regulation through the Office of the Professions, which is assisted by 25 state boards for the professions, including the New York State Board for Public Accountancy. According to its website, the Office of the Professions provides the following services to the public and the professions: licensure and regulation, professional discipline, and public and professional education and information.

Pataki further pledged in his “State of the State” address to “advance sweeping reforms to governance of our schools statewide, by reforming the way our state board of regents is chosen.”

As he later proposed in his executive budget, delivered on Jan. 29, the number of regents would be increased from 16 to 18, with the governor appointing 12 of them—one for each judicial district—“thereby making the state’s highest elected official accountable for the performance of New York’s educational system.” Legislators would appoint the other six, with two regents appointed by the majority in each house, and one regent appointed by the minority in each house.

Established in 1784, the state Board of Regents currently includes 16 members elected by the state legislature for five-year terms, one from each of the state’s 12 judicial districts and four who serve at large. According to the regents’ website at www.regents.nysed.gov, “The regents are responsible for the general supervision of all educational activities within the state,” presiding over the state university and the State Education Department.

As part of his restructuring plan, Pataki also recommended in his executive budget that the Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities program and the Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped be transferred from the SED to the Department of Labor. Similarly, cultural education programs, including the State Museum, Library and Archives, would be transferred to create a new entity known as the New York Institute for Cultural Education.