Message from the Executive Director

April 13, 2025

Dear Members and Stakeholders,

The state budget process remains stalled as Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders remain at an impasse. A fourth budget extender is in place through Tuesday.

During the week, legislative leaders expressed frustration with the governor’s insistence on the inclusion of a number of outstanding policy proposals. The governor stressed the importance of her proposals and suggested she’s willing to continue negotiations for as long as it takes.

With the Passover holiday under way, and the Good Friday and Easter holidays approaching, it seems unlikely that a finalized state budget will be completed in the near term. The combination of a late budget and uncertainty about what the final state aid figures will be creates challenges for school districts facing ballot deadlines on April 22.

As such, NYSSBA joined with our Educational Conference Board (ECB) partners to issue a memo to state policymakers reminding them of the impact an untimely state budget has on the local school district budget development process. Collectively, we urged the legislature and governor to come to an agreement soon "on a state budget that adequately and effectively supports New York’s public schools."

In recognition of these challenges, the State Education Department issued a memo on Friday to superintendents and business officials from Chief Financial Officer Christina Coughlin and Deputy Commissioner, P-12 Operational Support, Jason Harmon. In it they noted the challenge of finalizing district budgets without a final enacted state budget and final school aid allocations. While saying SED "did not know when the state budget will be adopted or what it will contain," they offered a reminder that "districts face statutory budget deadlines and must move forward with the best information available." The memo offered information on common adjustments to the Executive Budget proposal and other resources.

Our governmental relations team continues to monitor the budget process and NYSSBA will provide updates as they become available.

USDOE certification request update
The U.S. Department of Education asked the State Education Department late last week to share a document relating to its earlier Title VI certification request with every Local Education Agency (LEA) in its jurisdiction.

SED, noting that no action was required, referenced the National Education Association (NEA) lawsuit challenging USDOE’s Feb.14, 2025 "Dear Colleague" letter in its communication to LEAs. NEA is alleging that the letter unlawfully threatens to take away federal funding from schools that engage in whatever USDOE deems to constitute diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In response to a request for a temporary restraining order, the parties agreed that USDOE will not demand Title VI assurances, or "initiate enforcement action," until after April 24, 2025.

SED reaffirmed "it will not be collecting responses from LEAs regarding the Title VI certification, which removes any obligation for LEAs to respond to this request. We are only making you aware of this document at USDOE’s request." Colorado, Illinois and Pennsylvania have also pushed back on the federal certification request.

The DOE document read, in part:

"Final Agreement:

• ED [U.S. Department of Education] will not initiate enforcement action, investigation, or otherwise take action based on any State or LEA certification, lack of certification, or communication with ED regarding certification, until after the April 24, 2025 deadline has passed. Up to and including that date, States and LEAs may submit or re-submit the requested certifications and/or other responses to OCR, and ED will not act upon such submissions or rely on them as material representations until after April 24, 2025.

• Certifications by States and LEA are not effective until after April 24, 2025, and may not be used for any purpose, including but not limited for the basis of any enforcement action, investigation, claim under the False Claims Act, contact claim, or any other basis for liability by any public or private party.

• ED will not initiate any enforcement action, investigation, or otherwise take action based on the Dear Colleague Letter issued on February 14, 2025 and subsequent actions implementing the letter until after April 24, 2025. This would not preclude enforcement actions, investigations, or other actions based on Title VI in general or the Students for Fair Admissions case."

New York AG sues Trump administration to restore access to ARPA funds
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced this week that she is leading a coalition of 15 other attorneys general and the governor of Pennsylvania in suing the Trump administration to restore states’ access to critical U.S. Department of Education programs that support low-income and unhoused students and provide funding for other services to address the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on K-12 students.

The DOE announced on March 28 it was unilaterally ending access to hundreds of millions of dollars in grants from the American Rescue Plan Act, which it had previously determined the states could access through March 2026. "This sudden change in position and arbitrary termination of states’ access to these funds has created a massive budget gap for state education departments and local school districts that will cause serious harm to students throughout the country. New York alone has lost access to $134 million in funds due to DOE’s decision," James said in the announcement.

NSBA issues ‘Take Action to Protect Public Education’
NSBA is urging its members to take action as Congress is considering federal budget reconciliation proposals that could severely undermine public schools and the students they serve. These proposals would reduce vital funding, impose unfunded mandates on districts, and deepen disparities for our most vulnerable learners. We need your voice.

By taking just a moment to act, you can urge your Members of Congress to reject budget proposals that would:

• Redirect federal tax revenue to subsidize private school choice through a new tax credit program that lacks accountability and oversight.
• Cut Medicaid funding for school-based services, jeopardizing support for students with disabilities and low-income families.
• Slash federal nutrition programs that help ensure students have access to the healthy meals they need to learn and thrive.

These changes would have far-reaching consequences — weakening the education system, limiting student support services, and exacerbating existing inequities.

I urge you to participate in this Take Action by texting REJECT to 52886 or visiting p2a.co/a58hm72. Please also share it to increase the number of voices Congress hears.

2025 Resolutions process under way
All NYSSBA members have received our annual Resolutions Kit, containing the results of the recent resolutions survey and detailed instructions on the resolution submission process for 2025. You can review our current position statements here. I encourage you to participate in this process as it is your opportunity to establish the positions and beliefs of your association, and direct our advocacy efforts.

Protect school-based health centers
On May 1, 2025, the State is planning to require School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) to be moved into Medicaid Managed Care (MMC) for how they receive Medicaid payments. This proposed shift from SBHCs receiving direct payments for services provided through the State Health Department, to being required to contract with, bill, and hope for payments from managed care plans could force SBHCs to close or reduce services. The New York State School-Based Health Alliance, whose efforts NYSSBA routinely supports, has a Take Action campaign to urge state lawmakers and Gov. Hochul to stop this carve-in through the final budget before it significantly disrupts care for vulnerable children.

Weekly Updates and Reminders

Register here: Executive Director’s Complimentary Webinar: Leading Together – Welcoming and Supporting Student Leadership on Your Board - April 23 at noon.
This insightful and informative webinar is designed to help school districts successfully welcome their new student school board representative. We will cover the essential steps for selecting, onboarding, and integrating a youth leader into your governance team, ensuring their voice is both heard and valued. Attendees will hear from youth leaders and their mentors from around New York State and the National Student Board Member Association. They will share diverse perspectives, practical insights, and firsthand experiences on how to effectively support and empower student leaders, while also addressing common challenges and best practices.

Register here: Executive Director’s Complimentary Webinar: Student Data Protection - Are Your District’s Safeguards Properly Compliant - April 30 at noon.
This interactive webinar, presented by NYSED Chief Privacy Officer Louise DeCandia, will show why the protection of student data is not always as simple as it sounds. You’ll learn more about the challenges posed by an age where digital information is continuously expanding. You will gain a better understanding of the full scope of your school district’s obligation to shield student data from improper disclosure, and how applicable federal and state laws interact. You will become better prepared to assess whether your district’s policies, protocols and procedures are properly compliant with both federal and state legal requirements.

Register here: Policy Workshop – Student-Centered Policies Recent Developments – May 7 at 8:30 a.m.
This virtual workshop will focus on policies that help create a school environment where students are present, ready to learn and share their voices. You will learn how districts should develop and implement policies regarding smartphone-free schools, ex officio student board members and extreme heat in schools.

As I close this week’s message, I’d like to congratulate the Rural Schools Association of New York State’s 2025 Rural Teacher of the Year, Christopher Romanchock of the Canisteo-Greenwood Central School District. Well done! Thank you for your hard work and dedication to your students’ success.

For those who are celebrating Passover, I wish you and your families Chag Pesach Sameach!

Be well and stay in touch.

Sincerely,

Robert S. Schneider CPA, CAE
Executive Director
New York State School Boards Association