FOR RELEASE: January 14, 2025
Gov. Hochul’s promise today to make free school breakfasts and lunches available to every student in the state has NYSSBA’s full support. NYSSBA has been one of the leading advocates of a truly universal school meals program, and this initiative will ensure that no children go to school hungry and greatly increases their chances to succeed in the classroom. We thank Gov. Hochul for her leadership on this issue and for building on the significant investments in school meals that were made in the last two state budgets.
NYSSBA also applauds the governor’s focus on addressing the mental health of students by training high school students to recognize signs of impaired mental health among their friends and peers and by linking mental health resources to after-school programs.
As lawmakers turn their attention to the state budget, NYSSBA urges state lawmakers to come up with a satisfactory solution to the Foundation Aid formula as they negotiate this year’s state budget, one which provides adequate and equitable levels of state aid to our school districts and the students they serve. Any changes should take into account that there are components of the foundation aid formula that sorely need updating, including poverty data, regional costs, inflation, and the treatment of English language learners and special education students. It would also need to safeguard save harmless and guaranteed minimum allocation protections.