New York State Education Department Commissioner's Constitutional Convention Files

By subject, then reverse chronological order

This series documents the activities of James E. Allen, Jr. (1911-1971), New York State Commissioner of Education (1955-1969) in preparation for and during the 1967 New York State Constitutional Convention. Records include correspondence; reports; press releases; pamphlets; clippings; copies of testimony before Constitutional Convention Committees; and copies of publications of the Board of Regents and the Temporary State Commission on the Constitutional Convention. Copies of the 1967 New York State Constitution, which was not approved by voters, are also included. Correspondence and official position statements indicate the effects which theretofore recent federal programs such as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 were having on education policy and practice. Records also reflect local and state attempts to bolster existing state education infrastructure which was seen, in some cases, to have diminished the need in New York State for certain federal actions.

The records fall generally into three timeframes: before the convention when position statements were being discussed and developed; the early committee and subcommittee hearings stage when testimony was being researched, written and presented; and the later, full-convention stage after the committees had written their designated Articles. During this final stage various groups were reacting to the wording of the proposed Constitution, especially the Education Article, and advocating changes to be made before final approval, or indicating intension to support or oppose ratification.

The bulk of the records relate to the preparation stage, and reflect input from the major education stake-holders in New York State in advance of both the sixteen part publication series from the Temporary State Commission and the May 1967 Regents' publication, "Position of the State Board of Regents with respect to Certain Basic Issues in Education Before the 1967 Constitutional Convention of the State of New York." Copies of those publications are also included.

Records created during the early stage of the convention include correspondence with convention delegates; drafts and copies of testimony given before committees by the Commissioner and other Education Department personnel; and statements, testimony, and correspondence from various education organizations.

Records from the later stage of the convention chiefly contain reactions to the wording chosen by the Constitutional Convention Committee on Education and statements indicating the intention to advocate for change, support, or oppose the 1967 Education Article (Article IX) and ultimately, the proposed Constitution. Also included are Education Department estimates (Box 1, Folder 8) of the cost of education programs which would be borne by New York State taxpayers should the Constitution be adopted in that form.

Issues addressed in the record series include: the role of the local, state and federal governments in education; the name, organization and authority of the University of the State of New York; the absence of executive interaction in the election of the Board of Regents and the appointment of the Commissioner of Education by the Regents; the subordination of the State University of New York under the Education Department versus under the University of the State of New York (as is true for the rest of the colleges and universities in the state); taxation and spending limits imposed on school districts by the 1938 Constitution; Education Department staff's concerns school financing changes contained in Article XII, Sections 4, 5, 8 & 15 (Box 1, Folder 4). Also reflected in the series is the desire of most correspondents to protect the Education Article (Article XI) from the addition of the level of statutory law included in other articles of the 1938 Constitution.

Perhaps the most contentious issue discussed in this series, and a major reason for the 1967 Constitution's failure to win voter approval, is the so-called "Blaine Amendment" (Article XI, Section 3) of the 1938 Constitution which specified that state aid could not be used to support "denominational" schools.

Records that are particularly noteworthy for their reflection of New York State Education Department policy include statements and/or testimony provided by the Board of Regents or Commissioner Allen to The Constitutional Convention Education Committee on June 15, 1967 (Box 1, Folders 6 and 18); Committee on Local Government and Home Rule on June 14, 1967 (Box 1, Folder 7); and the Committee on Intergovernmental Relations on May 17, 1967 (Box 1, Folders 8 and 20). Records illustrative of state laws impacting education include a letter citing specific statutes or regulations governing the Education Department and/or academic institutions in New York State requested by the Convention President and provided by Commissioner Allen (Box 1, Folder 7); a thirteen page statement of requirements in law placed on schools prepared in November of 1964 (Box 1, Folder 8); and a chart of "Constitutional Limitations on Real Property Taxes by Type of Municipality in New York State" (Box 1, Folder 7).

This series also includes correspondence and/or official statements and testimony from additional New York State Education Department staff; presidents of several New York State colleges and universities; former United States Commissioner of Education, Francis Keppel; various education organizations and associations including the New York State Teachers Association, the State Council of Superintendents, the New York State Catholic Welfare Committee, and the Association of Orthodox Jewish Teachers; and elected delegates to the 1967 Constitutional Convention.

B1060Series B1060, Commissioner's Speech Files, 1951-1977, contains related records

17265Series 17265, University of the State of New York Board of Regents Meeting Files, 1970-1991, includes audio tapes of meetings regarding the 1967 Constitutional Convention. Series/accretion 15080-77, Commissioner's Subject Files, 1955-1969, contains additional records of Commissioner James E. Allen, Jr. See also, Henrik N. Dullea, Charter Revision in the Empire State: The Politics of New York's 1967 Constitutional Convention. Albany: Rockefeller Institute Press, 1997.

This collection was physically processed in May 1984 and a preliminary description written in January 1990. This description was enhanced as part of the States' Impact on Federal Education Policy Project (SIFEPP) in February 2006. The New York Community Trust - Wallace Special Projects Fund provided funding for this project.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this series.