Hunter College School of Education Showcases Statewide Decision-Making Curriculum

The Hunter College School of Education (SOE), in partnership with the New York State Council on Developmental Disabilities (NYS CDD), presented its groundbreaking Decision-Making Curriculum at the 2025 New York State Association of Teacher Educators (NYSATE) and New York Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (NYACTE) Conference in Saratoga Springs, New York in October of 2025. The presentation, given by a team of Hunter College faculty including Principal Investigator Gina Riley and Faculty Associates, Elizabeth Klein, Alfonso Perez, and Imani Irving Perez, highlighted the curriculum’s powerful statewide impact, reaching thousands of students across New York State and reshaping how schools teach decision-making as a whole.

Developed to support all learners, including students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the curriculum guides students through a structured decision-making framework called GUTS, Pause, and GO (Gather Information, Understand Information, Think about Consequences, Seek out Support, Pause, and Go! Make your Decision).

Available online at nysdecisionmakingcurriculum.org, this free resource includes four separate curriculums: early childhood, childhood, bilingual, and adolescent. The curriculum has been translated into Spanish, Chinese, and Bengali, with more translations on the way. Included within the curriculum are companion guides for educators, families, and community partners, and four decision-making videos geared to a PreK-12th grade audience. To date, the curriculum has been utilized in pre-schools, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and colleges across New York State and beyond, impacting over 4,000 students.

The project is further strengthened by a group of Faculty Consultants – each a Hunter SOE adjunct or proud alumni, whose expertise in inclusive pedagogy and curriculum design informs every aspect of implementation. These Faculty Consultants include Christopher O’Sullivan (Special Education); Marina Velasquez (Curriculum & Teaching), Michelle Flax (Special Education), and Maya Berrol Young (NYC Public Schools). Together, the team’s collaborative model exemplifies Hunter’s commitment to practitioner-scholarship, equity, and innovation in education.

Funded in 2022 by an $800,000 grant from the New York State Council on Developmental Disabilities, the project’s next phase focuses on sustainability and state and nationwide scaling. Planned initiatives include expanding educator training, translating materials into additional languages, and publishing a research series on decision-making education. The Hunter SOE/NYC CDD Decision-Making Curriculum Project represents an innovative step forward in advancing self-determination, autonomy, and decision-making skills for students with and without disabilities across New York State.