October 2025

EdTrust-New York’s 2026 policy agenda is premised on the belief that all children can succeed in school when provided with high-quality, culturally relevant instruction and support that is equity-driven, data-centered, and student-focused. To improve outcomes across the state, particularly for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds, EdTrust-New York advocates for an equitable system of education that helps schools meet the following milestones:

1. 1. Every child is ready for kindergarten success;
   2. Every student has the foundational skills necessary to be proficient in reading by the end of 3rd grade, and proficient in math by 8th grade, while receiving science of learning-based instruction from an effective, diverse educator workforce;
   3. Every child is part of an equitable system of funding and support that targets resources to the districts and schools that need it the most, monitors student progress, and collects data to track student outcomes from cradle to career; and
   4. Every high school graduate is provided with the information, support, and financial aid needed to enroll in and complete college or postsecondary training.

Budget Request

To help meet these milestones, we urge investment in the following priorities as part of the Governor’s FY 2026-27 Executive Budget.

Milestone 1: Every child is ready for kindergarten success.

• Workforce Compensation: Create a permanent workforce compensation fund to raise childcare worker wages. The fund should be based on existing models showing the true cost of care and the implementation of a career lattice based on education and experience.
• Universal Child Care: Meet critical milestones toward achieving universal child care, including increasing funding for the Child Care Assistance Program to eliminate waitlists and enrollment closures, identifying sustainable funding sources, securing and retrofitting facilities for child care centers, improving contracting and payment systems for providers, and launching efforts to build a strong pipeline of child care educators to meet the growing demand.

Milestone 2: Every student has the foundational skills necessary to be proficient in reading by the end of 3rd grade, has the foundational math skills necessary for 8th grade proficiency, through science of learning-based instruction from an effective, diverse educator workforce.

Literacy:

• Professional Learning: Many current educators lack training in the science of reading from their preparation programs and require professional learning and coaching aligned to the science of reading, to support classroom instruction and help meet the state’s new literacy requirements. We propose $20 million in grants to districts to ensure all K-12 educators are provided with the opportunity to receive a micro credential in the science of reading and/or job-embedded coaching to improve classroom practice.
• Universal Reading Screening: New York is one of nine states that does not require universal reading screening in grades K-3 and one of twelve that does not mandate screening for Dyslexia. Early screening is critical to identifying reading challenges early, informing instruction, and providing targeted support to students. We propose requiring districts to screen all K-3 students three times per year using an evidence-based screener that includes Dyslexia identification. The state should provide this tool free to districts, along with training and support for educators, while allowing districts to select from a state-approved list of evidence-based alternative screeners. We request $10 million to purchase the screener and support districts with implementation.
• Curricula Aligned with the Science of Reading: We propose a $15 million investment to provide grants to districts not using curriculum aligned to the science of reading, for the purchase of K-5 literacy curricula and instructional resources aligned to the science of reading, with priority for districts replacing balanced literacy programming.

Math:

• Coaching for Educators: States have successfully addressed poor math outcomes by providing math coaches to support high quality instruction in the classroom, with a focus on high-need districts. We propose an initial state investment of $20 million to provide a qualified math coach for up to 200 high-need elementary schools across the state.
• High-Impact Tutoring: Students in grades 6-9 continue to be impacted by pandemic-related unfinished learning as evidenced by recent state assessment data showing only 41% of 8th graders proficient in Math. High-impact tutoring is a proven strategy to improve student math outcomes. We propose a $5 million investment that would support evidence-based, high-impact math tutoring for grades 6-9 in up to 25 high-need districts across the state.

Diverse Educator Workforce:

• Grow and Keep Your Own Fund: We propose $32 million for a Grow and Keep Your Own Fund that allocates resources to support apprenticeships, residencies, and other retention and recruitment initiatives that will diversify the educator workforce in key shortage areas and high-need regions. This fund would cover the costs of supporting 200 apprentices per year to support teacher recruitment, and 800 stipends for retention efforts including in-service certification and leadership advancement, mentoring and coaching for teaching, salary bonuses and supports for in-service educators in shortage subject areas and high-need districts.
• Educator Preparation Innovation Consortium: To lead the way in designing, testing, and advancing rigorous, future-ready, competency-based teacher preparation and assessment models, we propose $600K to launch an Educator Preparation Consortium. These funds would cover an annual summit and consortium-wide professional development series, technology costs for collaboration and data sharing, technical assistance contracts, and evaluation costs for generating and disseminating evidence.

Milestone 3: Every child is part of an equitable system of funding and support that targets resources to the districts and schools that need it most, monitors student progress, and collects data to track student outcomes from cradle to career.

Statewide Longitudinal Data System:

• Create a Governing Body for Statewide Longitudinal Data System: Pass legislation to codify a New York State longitudinal data system with a leadership-led governing body. This will help ensure governance, sustainability, and effective use of education and workforce data to support student success and inform sound policymaking to improve educational equity in our state.  We also urge the state to require the implementation of the system in a time-bound planning process with clear deliverables to develop the data governance for a New York Statewide Longitudinal Data System.
• Invest in Effective Community and Stakeholder Engagement: We urge the state dedicate $2 million to support the engagement of diverse stakeholders, particularly teachers, parents, students, and practitioners who work with students in the design and oversight of data governance structures.

Foundation Aid

• Increase the SAIPE Poverty Weight: To more accurately support students experiencing extreme poverty, we recommend that the SAIPE poverty weight increase from .65 to .95.
• Scale the SAIPE Poverty Weight: Research shows that concentrated poverty—where a high percentage of residence in a specific area live below the federal poverty thresholds—creates compounded needs for students and the schools who serve them. As a result, we recommend that the weight should start at 0.95 and scale up to 1.1 for districts with the highest poverty concentrations.
• Data Collection and Transparency: The state should pass legislation that requires NYSED to annually collect and share disaggregated information on how districts and schools are spending their Foundation Aid funds. This information should be informed by EdTrust-New York’s School Funding Tool which measures how state resources are distributed within schools and districts, with a focus on whether students from low-income backgrounds, students with disabilities, and multilingual learners are receiving the support they need to succeed.
• Index State Funding: Index state funding for UPK to the K-12 Foundation Aid per-pupil amount to provide sustained investment in programs that have already reached universal status.

Milestone 4: Every high school graduate is provided with the information, support, and financial aid needed to enroll in and complete college or postsecondary training.

Universal FAFSA implementation

• Grants to Support FAFSA Completion: New York took a major step forward to improving FAFSA completion rates by passing a Universal FAFSA law in 2024. However, districts and community partners need significant support to increase outreach and meet the law’s requirements. We propose a $3 million new investment that would allow for grants to community-based organizations to support outreach to students and funding to NYSED to meaningfully collect data on the law’s implementation, particularly around student waivers. Additionally, the state should assess the gap in school counselors needed to support Universal FAFSA completion and provide additional funding for districts to hire school counselors.

Emergency Aid Fund

• Basic Needs Support for College Students: Provide $5 million for the Statewide Emergency Aid Fund to support a grant matching program to SUNY or CUNY that covers the cost of basic needs following an unexpected or unforeseen emergency.