2015 LEGISLATIVE SESSION KICK OFF - ADVOCACY ALERT |
January 9, 2015
2015 LEGISLATIVE SESSION KICK OFF
Normally this week, you would all be reading NYSSBA’s analysis of the State of the State address and our forecast of what that means for the budget and legislative session. However, things in Albany are a kicking off a bit differently this year. The death of former Governor Mario Cuomo resulted in the delay of the State of the State until January 21.
Despite the delay in the speech, session started this week and NYSSBA has already begun the work associated with advancing our legislative agenda. Meetings with legislative, executive and regulatory staff are underway, and next week all legislators will receive copies of NYSSBA’s 2015 Legislative Priorities booklet. NYSSBA’s 2015 Legislative Priorities can be viewed here:
These priorities are drawn from the positions adopted by the voting delegates at our annual business meetings, which remain active for five years, unless achieved or rescinded. A full listing of our Position Statements can be found here:
Copies of our priorities will be transmitted to all legislators and other policymakers by the NYSSBA staff and are posted on the NYSSBA website. Hard copies are available for your legislative meetings as well. If you would like copies of either publication, please contact Penny Martiniano at penny.martiniano@nyssba.org or 518-783-3734.
JOINT GUIDANCE ON EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS FOR
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice have released Joint Guidance to ensure English learner students have equal access to high-quality education. Their guidance can be found here:
January 7, 2015
On the heels of regulations recently adopted by the NYS Board of Regents on the same topic, we thought the federal guidance may be of interest to districts. Details on the state regulations were recently highlighted in OnBoard and can be found here:
OnBoard: Serving English Language Learners
CENTER FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES RULING MAY ALLOW ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS
In December, the US Department of Health and Human Services Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a letter that indicated the Department’s intent to allow Medicaid to make payment to schools for all eligible services they provide to Medicaid eligible students. Historically, such payments have been limited to certain services included in a student’s IEP.
The full letter from the director of CMS can be found here: