August 9, 2018

Last night, the New York State Division of the Budget released a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document to assist districts in the completion and submission of the New York State School Funding Transparency Form.  A link to the FAQ is included below.

July 25, 2018

Following the Monday passage in the US Senate, the House acted yesterday to approve the reauthorization of the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. 

Highlights of the final version of the reauthorization, dubbed the "Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act" are below. If signed, this act would:

July 20th, 2018

Last week, the NYS Division of the Budget (DOB) released the form and guidance on the new requirement for districts to report annually on building level, per pupil budget allocations, based on a requirement in the 2018 enacted state budget. NYSSBA sent an Advocacy Alert to members later that same day summarizing the materials released by DOB.

DOB is soliciting questions on the form and guidance until July 25, 2018, and will use the questions to produce a "frequently asked questions" (FAQ) document by August 8, 2018. Districts that are subject to the requirement in year one will have until August 31, 2018 to submit their forms.

July 18, 2018

This week, the full House Appropriations Committee voted on recommendations regarding Fiscal Year 2019 funding for the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education. Those recommendations included the restoration of $47 million in funding for Safe Schools and Citizenship Education for a total funding level of $90 million. In addition, the Committee noted that Title IV Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (SSAE) grants (authorized under the Every Student Succeeds Act) could be used for "School Safety Measures" including, but not limited to, bullet resistant doors and glass with hinge-locking mechanisms, immediate notification systems and other hardening measures.

July 11, 2018

Earlier today, the NYS Division of the Budget released the form and guidance on the new requirement for districts to report annually on building level, per pupil budget allocations, based on a requirement in the 2018 enacted state budget. Beginning in the 2018-19 school year, this requirement will affect any school district with at least four schools that receives 50 percent of it's total revenue through state aid.

There are 76 districts impacted in 2018 and they will have until July 25, 2018  to submit questions to the Division of the Budget for possible inclusion in a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document. Year one districts will have until August 31, 2018 to submit their form. All districts who receive Foundation Aid will be required to comply beginning in the 2020-2021 school year.

June 27, 2018

Earlier today, the NYSSBA Governmental Relations team conducted a webinar discussing the end of the 2018 legislative session and how your school district could be impacted.

We discussed what bills state lawmakers passed, what bills they did not, and what business was left unfinished.

If you were unable to view the webinar live, you can watch video or view the power point at the links below:

June 21, 2018

For the first time in recent history, the state legislative session ended without a "big ugly", a complicated, comprehensive bill with a lot of unrelated items that no one would agree to otherwise. While some were frustrated by the lack of agreement on specific items, the upside is that there was no rush to judgment on complex issues that should be addressed thoughtfully.

NYSSBA Governmental Relations Staff will break down all the details on the session at the End of Session Webinar on June 27^th, but some of the highlights, as well as registration information on the webinar can be viewed below.

Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan introduced the Senate's proposal to update APPR, as well as a number of other Senate Education priorities.

At first blush some components of the proposal may seem attractive, as the bill repeals sections 3012-c and 3012-d of the education law, and along with them the matrix, the requirement to use any measure of student performance and any link to state aid. However, the bill then restructures APPR to require that evaluations be 100% subject to collective bargaining. 

The bill would also include a number of provisions unrelated to evaluation including:

• An increase of the charter school cap
• An elimination of the NYC charter school and requirement that more schools be located there
• Allowing all charters issued to schools that have closed to be reissued
• Reducing oversight of certain nonpublic schools
• Providing Division of Human Rights oversight over public school students
• Reducing educator probationary periods from 4 to 3 years
• Permanently prohibiting standardized test scores from being included in students' permanent records. 

June 5, 2018

After a weeklong gap in action, yesterday, with little fanfare, the State Senate entered their chamber and took up 130 bills, before adjourning for the day. These were largely non- controversial measures, and it remains to be seen what will happen today or if there are controversial bills advanced. NYSSBA Governmental Relations will continue to push to see our priorities advanced while bills are still being considered.

June 4, 2018

The hectic days that lead in to the final days of the NYS legislative session have hit a new snag. Following the departure of Senator Tom Croci, who has begun preparation to resume active military duty and stopped coming to Albany, neither the Democrats nor Republicans have the requisite number of votes (32) to pass legislation.

Senate Democrats and Lieutenant Governor Hochul have argued that in this instance, she, as president of the Senate, should have the authority to preside over and cast the deciding vote.