Erika Sanger, Executive Director of the Museum Association of New York (MANY) has written to supporters to say that in the opening days of the legislative session, the Museum Education Act has already moved through the Assembly Tourism Committee into Ways and Means.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us in the Assembly and the Senate to get the bill passed this year,” Sanger told supporters. “We have a lot of hope because funding for a pilot project was included in the New York State Education Department’s budget request.”
MANY has also organized an online survey to help gather data to share with legislators and the Education Department in support of the Museum Education Act.
Link to Museum Education Survey
Sanger said the survey should take less than five minutes. “Please feel free to forward this email and the link to your museum education department,” she wrote. “Only one person from each museum should complete the survey.”
” Museum Education Act has already moved through the Assembly Tourism Committee into Ways and Means”
I guess this is where the problem begins…why on earth would a “Museum Education Act” come under the thumb of the Tourism Committee? Every initiative I have experienced that began in broad sense that included History, Historians and Museums eventually Tourism pushed everyone else out of the way and all the programs and money went the Tourism route. One recent example was the whole “Path Through History” initiative. I was invited to attend the initiative “roll out” held in Albany by Gov. Cuomo. This meeting was very heavy on the history – historian focus and participation. When the program really got rolling though it turned out to be almost 100% under Tourism’s thumb and the thoughts and guidance by participating historians was pretty much disregarded totally….and so it is still today. Tourism carries too big an ax or club in this state which simply won’t allow any other interest or discipline to have their day or say.