Albany

Angry over the state's implementation of the new Common Core curriculum, New York's largest teachers union is planning a "no confidence" vote on state Education Commissioner John King.

"The frustration level is overwhelming," said Richard Iannuzzi, president of New York State United Teachers, in an interview Thursday on Time Warner's "Capital Tonight" program.

NYSUT spokesman Carl Korn said Iannuzzi will ask the union's 80-member board of directors to approve the vote at their meeting on Jan. 24-25.

If passed, the vote would then go to NYSUT's representative meeting in April, where all 2,000 union delegates would vote on it.

While symbolic — King reports to the appointed state Board of Regents — such a vote would be unprecedented.

NYSUT members have complained that they haven't received enough guidance on the new Common Core teaching standards, which are supposed to emphasize college or career readiness. They also resent a new system of teacher evaluations that will be based in part on how students perform on standardized tests.

They want a three-year moratorium on using test scores for "high-stakes" decisions such as evaluations, although that would likely have to come from the Legislature, not the Board of Regents.

King spokesman Dennis Tompkins said the demands are a distraction, and teachers should focus on helping students reach the new standards.