FOR RELEASE: January 19, 2021

Governor Cuomo presented a budget proposal – or actually, two proposals – today that includes a lot of unknowns and uncertainty for school districts.

FOR RELEASE: January 14, 2021

The release of graduation rate data for students who entered high school in 2016 provides us with a welcome reminder of progress our students and educators have made over the past decade in improving the overall graduation rate and narrowing the achievement gap between Black and Hispanic students and white students.

FOR RELEASE: January 12, 2021

In today’s installment of his 2021 State of the State Address, Governor Cuomo once again highlighted some key issues of concern for students and schools.

FOR RELEASE: January 11, 2021

The governor’s delivery of a State of the State message is a welcome step toward normality as we begin a new year and a new legislative session that feels anything but normal. 

FOR RELEASE: January 11, 2021

We congratulate Regent Lester W. Young, Jr. on his election as chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents, and we celebrate his historic role as New York’s first African American Regents chancellor. 

FOR RELEASE: December 23, 2020

It is essential that the $900 billion stimulus plan negotiated and passed in an overwhelmingly bipartisan manner by the Senate and the House of Representatives be signed by the president and implemented immediately. 

FOR RELEASE: December 22, 2020

We are pleased that Congress has passed a new stimulus package. Prior to this package, schools faced the possibility of a $5 billion aid cut. Congress has greatly improved an otherwise dire financial situation for schools.

FOR RELEASE: December 9, 2020

We are encouraged by the governor’s comments today in response to a question from the news media related to NYSSBA’s expressed concerns that New York needs a second round of federal funding to spare our schools from drastic aid cuts. 

NYSSBA’s school board members have advocated strongly for federal funding assistance and flexibility.

FOR RELEASE: November 23, 2020

Pandemic learning pods, or clusters of K-12 students learning and studying together outside of school, provide academic structure, child care and social support during the COVID-19 pandemic. But some researchers say these pods promote inequities for K-12 students, according to a new report from the New York State School Boards Association.

Across the nation, parents are forming pandemic learning pods for their children to allay safety concerns about the recent return to school classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pods can act as an alternative to traditional K-12 public education or as a complement to it.

"It is important to stress that these pods can create inequities for student learning and, ultimately, can only be a short-term fix to an unpredictable global event," said NYSSBA Executive Director Robert Schneider.

FOR RELEASE: October 8, 2020

Schools are laying off teachers and staff. Some students in grades 7-12 are being forced to learn entirely remotely, due to inadequate funding. The federal government needs to get serious and provide the necessary relief.