Bethany Bump is reporting at Capitol Confidential state lawmakers on Tue., Mar. 8, picked three new members to serve on the Board of Regents. Luis Reyes, director of education at Hunter College’s Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Nan Mead, an education activist out of New York City, and Elizabeth Smith Hakanson, of Syracuse, were all chosen to serve on the board which sets state education policy. The board is expected to pick Bronx member and opt-out advocate Betty Rosa as its next chancellor in the coming weeks. Chancellor Merryl Tisch will vacate her seat at the end of the month. New York State United Teachers praised the choices as another step forward on the path toward ending “the era of test-and-punish.” High Achievement New York, a pro-Common Core group, also praised the selections and urged the new members to put students interests first, not politics. More than 50 New Yorkers applied for a seat on the board, and for the first time, the interview process was streamed live. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.