Message from the Executive Director
May 31, 2026
Dear Members and Stakeholders,
Minutes before midnight on Wednesday night, the Legislature approved the last of the 2026-27 state budget bills. That vote concluded what stands as the latest state budget since 2010 and leaves just one week left in the legislative session.
While the budget process was frustratingly long, and unfortunately led to local school budgets being developed with an incomplete state aid picture, we are pleased that lawmakers finally came together to approve a budget that supports school districts and students by providing more than $1 billion in new Foundation Aid with a guaranteed increase for all districts, and delaying the financially and logistically unworkable zero-emission school bus mandate by half a decade, among other provisions.
Despite this year’s budget providing meaningful support, many districts are still operating under significant financial pressure. NYSSBA will continue to advocate for schools to have the resources needed to fulfill their mission of educating our youth. Our full budget statement is available here.
Our Governmental Relations team delivered an excellent overview of the final budget agreement, while also discussing potential impacts on schools during its Enacted State Budget Analysis webinar on Thursday. If you missed it or want to revisit the valuable information delivered by our team, I encourage you to watch the recording. You can also take a deeper dive by reading our comprehensive summary and analysis of the final 2026-27 state budget.
SED Commissioner Rosa to speak at Leadership in Education Event
New York State Commissioner of Education Dr. Betty A. Rosa will appear as part of a State Education Department panel discussion and Q&A at this year’s Leadership in Education Event set for July 24-25 at the Crowne Plaza Albany. She will be joined by members of her senior staff for a discussion on NY Inspires and Portrait of a Graduate as well as other topics of interest to New York’s public education community.
The highly interactive learning opportunities will provide you with an in-depth view of key education and school district topics, delivered by top speakers in the field. In addition to Portrait of a Graduate, the event will cover student wellbeing in a digital world, community engagement, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. There will also be a session on the Dignity Index and opportunities to network.
SED releases comprehensive school-based mental health system briefs
The State Education Department has released its Comprehensive School-based Mental Health System Briefs, which are designed to help districts and schools establish, strengthen, and sustain systems that support student well-being, prevention, intervention, and ongoing support within the learning environment.
The briefs provide an introductory framework across six key areas: school leadership, mental health teaming, family and community partnerships, school climate, promotion and prevention, and targeted and intensive Interventions.
Desha’s Law FAQs now available
To assist schools in meeting the requirements of Desha’s Law, SED has developed an FAQ document and made it available on the Office of Student Support Services School Safety Plans webpage. It provides information related to training staff and students, when automatic external defibrillators (AED) are required and CPR/AED staff training requirements.
Weekly updates and reminders
Before your board votes on a facility project, budget proposal or program change — how confident are you in the enrollment trends and demographic assumptions behind it? If the answer is "not very," you're not alone. Fortunately, there's a free fix. Dr. Amy Brombos, who serves organizations across New York State as a data dissemination specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau’s Data Dissemination and Training Branch, will help you access free federal data sources, validate planning assumptions, spot population shifts and ask your administrators more informed questions.
You’ll have three opportunities to take advantage of this year’s Summer Law Conference this year July 23 (Albany), July 28 (Long Island) and July 29-30 (virtual). Experienced school attorneys will help you gain a deeper understanding of your school district’s legal responsibilities related to some of the most pressing, emerging issues of that day, along with potential solutions.
A recent NYS Comptroller audit report and another cyberattack on a third-party computer platform used to store school data reinforce the need for school district leaders to understand and implement precautions that can prevent or mitigate the impact of such an incident.
Learn how the use of AI could lead to civil rights violations and the inadvertent disclosure of personally identifiable information. Become educated about how court decisions on immunization may impact your district and hear the latest on many other important legal topics.
I encourage those attending the Summer Law Conference to stay for the Leadership in Education Event. If you can’t join us in Albany, be sure to sign up for one of the other two locations.
Submit your nomination for NYSSBA's Everett R. Dyer Award
Nominations for the NYSSBA Everett R. Dyer Award for Distinguished School Board Service are due by June 26. The award is presented annually to a current or former school board member in recognition of outstanding contributions to public education.
Read the latest national association news
Here’s the latest from the Consortium of State School Boards Associations (COSSBA) and the National School Boards Association (NSBA):
Be well and stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Robert S. Schneider CPA, CAE
Executive Director
New York State School Boards Association