Regents Review Executive Proposal on Education

The State Education Department presented a comprehensive review of the executive proposal for school year 2019-20. The biggest contrast between the Regents and executive proposals is in the treatment of Foundation Aid. The executive proposes a $338 million increase compared with the Regents $1.6 billion increase, for which the Department will continue to advocate.

This review includes detailed information on school aid including equity plans, and proposed changes to expense-based aids for 2020-21 including a new Services Aid and a new tier of Building Aid. This also includes an executive proposal for Regional STEM Magnet Schools offered by BOCES pursuant to a plan approved by the Commissioner. Non-component districts would be able to contract to send students to the magnet school. The districts would issue high school diplomas and the BOCES would be considered a school district for accountability purposes for these schools. BOCES would be responsible for curriculum, grading and the teachers would be employed by the BOCES.

The Executive Budget would require every school district receiving homeless funds to annually submit to the Department an accounting of the use of such funds in the prior school year before the end of the succeeding school year. The Commissioner shall review such accounting and develop, in consultation with the Commissioner of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), best practices to support homeless youth.

The Regents review includes executive proposals related to higher education, cultural education, the professions and ACCES. It provides details on a proposed Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, a Child Victims Act, a permanent tax cap, Voting Pre-Registration and Gun Safety Measures. The executive includes a proposal for Decreasing Tax Shift Impacts to School Districts that would provide