August 25, 2020

Yesterday evening Governor Cuomo signed a bill that allows for some flexibility with the use of restricted reserve funds by school districts. Now Chapter 157, the bill permits school districts to pull funds from otherwise restricted reserve funds for COVID-related expenses. If a school district chooses to do so, the district must pay the funds back to reserve within five years, at a minimum of 20% of the withdrawal per year. In addition, the district must also add a reasonably expected interest rate of return to the pay back.

NYSSBA's summer Congressional Meetings have gone virtual.  We would like to thank all of our advocacy liaisons for joining in this effort!  This week we had the opportunity to speak directly with Senator Chuck Schumer.  During the meeting, he encouraged us to ask our members to reach out to their Congressional Representatives and ask them to get the job done. 

July 24, 2020

Shortly after midnight, the legislature wrapped up their most recent brief return to Albany since the Capitol shut down in March due to COVID-19. Following the adoption of the state budget in early April, the Assembly has held nine total session days and the Senate has held eight. While this week had some similar aspects to a traditional end of session, neither the Senate nor the Assembly made any announcements regarding their plan for the rest of 2020. It is still possible for the legislature to return before the end of the day, particularly if the Governor and state Division of Budget release any state funding reduction plan – of which there has been no recent news or developments.

June 11, 2020

Yesterday, Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 202.40 to affirm the ability of a school district to seek a budget revote, should their 2020-21 budget proposal be defeated next week. While the Executive Order effectively promised the opportunity for a revote, it provided little detail on the date or process of the revote, stating that such decisions would be subject to a future Executive Order.

Following the release of the Executive Order, NYSSBA and our fellow education advocates received a letter from Elizabeth Garvey, Special Counsel to the Governor and Senior Advisor, providing additional context to the order.

May 29, 2020

Nearly two months after departing the Capitol following completion of the state budget, the Senate and Assembly returned to Albany for three days of marathon committee meetings and legislative session. While legislators mainly focused on legislation concerning health and economic issues, a few bills affecting public education and our school districts were acted upon. Governmental Relations staff worked around the clock on these issues – and we wanted to update you on the results and current status of those efforts.

April 21, 2020

NYSSBA's Governmental Relations team has been hard at work reaching out to State and Federal Representatives asking them for additional funding for K-12 Public Education.  We are asking you to join us in this effort.  We have created a Call to Action letter designed to be sent to your local Federal Representatives.  As they continue to negotiate an additional stimulus package, we must remind them to not leave out Education.  The link below will take you directly to the letter:

• Call to Action

April 17, 2020

Dear NYSSBA Member:

Below you will find a link to NYSSBA's 2020 Resolution Kit. This kit includes key dates and other important information about NYSSBA's resolutions process.  

• 2020 Resolution Kit

April 14, 2020

Yesterday, NYSSBA sent a letter to New York's Congressional delegation calling for increased funding and flexibility with regard to federal IDEA requirements. NYSSBA believes such action is critically important as districts navigate through these unprecedented times. You can view a copy of that letter below.

• NYSSBA Letter to Congress on IDEA Funding and Flexibility

April 7, 2020

This afternoon, the NYSSBA Governmental Relations team conducted a webinar to present their analysis of the 2020 State Budget and to answer questions.

If you were unable to view the webinar live, you may view it at any time at the link below.

April 1, 2020

As state budget negotiations continue past the April 1 deadline, some portions of the school funding package and other education components are starting to become clear. NYSSBA Governmental Relations staff has been reviewing budget bills that have been released and are waiting for final bills to be printed.