NEW YORK — Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2026 State of the State address includes several important proposals aimed at advancing educational equity, with a strong emphasis on supporting New York’s children and their families through universal child care, investments in the Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS), higher education emergency aid, high-impact tutoring in reading and math, and professional learning aligned with the science of reading for in-service teachers. EdTrust-New York looks forward to working with the Governor and the Legislature to build on these commitments and ensure equity remains at the center of the final 2026 State Budget

Child Care
EdTrust-New York welcomes Governor Hochul’s commitment to deliver universal child care for all children under five and applauds her $4.5 billion investment this year, along with her pledge to provide additional funding in future years. This long-overdue promise invests directly in young children, their families, the child care workforce, and the long-term strength and equity of New York’s economy. We also commend the Governor for prioritizing the statewide expansion of universal pre-K and advance New York City’s 3-K expansion, especially as the city faces a shortfall of roughly 16,000 seats this year. As the city and state move this work forward, they must ensure that new pre-K and 3-K seats provide full-day and after-school options and are located in the communities where families need them most.

We are further encouraged by the Governor’s support for Mayor Mamdani’s 2-Care Plan, including piloting expansions in high-need neighborhoods, and urge state and city leaders to strengthen this commitment in the final plan while protecting immigrant and mixed-status families by ensuring vouchers are not tied to federal funding that could jeopardize eligibility. Although the state narrowly avoided a major Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) shortfall last year, thousands of New York City families remain on waitlists, and the state must prioritize them for new seats under the Governor’s $1.2 billion CCAP investment. Finally, a universal child care system cannot succeed without a stable and well-supported workforce. While we welcome proposals to expand scholarships, financial aid, and training pathways for early childhood educators, including workforce Pell Grants and expanded SUNY and CUNY programs, the state must pair these efforts with increased compensation.

Literacy
EdTrust-New York appreciates the Governor’s leadership on literacy, including her proposals to offer science of reading micro-credentials for current educators and to launch a pilot program supporting reading instruction in the Rochester and Yonkers school districts, in partnership with local educator preparation programs.

We urge the Governor and Legislature to further prioritize literacy by committing to a comprehensive, multi-year investment in evidence-based literacy instruction, as most other states have done in recent years. This commitment should begin with additional investments this year in universal screening; professional learning, and evidence-based curricula aligned with the science of reading.

Math
EdTrust-New York applauds the Governor’s Back to Basics in Math initiative, which supports professional learning, evidence-based instruction, high-quality instructional materials, and a new micro-credential in math for educators. We urge the Governor and Legislature to invest further in math, a foundational skill essential to future student success, by providing coaching support for educators, and automatically enrolling all qualified students in 8th grade Algebra 1.

State Longitudinal Data System
EdTrust-New York welcomes the Governor’s continued support for a statewide longitudinal data system, including expanding current efforts and establishing a multi-agency governance board to securely track student outcomes and improve evidence-based policy making. We urge the Governor and state to invest an additional $2 million in community and stakeholder engagement to ensure the system reflects the needs of teachers, parents, students, and practitioners.

High-Impact Tutoring
EdTrust-New York is pleased by the Governor’s proposal to support high-impact tutoring in math and reading at high-needs schools, a proven strategy for improving student outcomes in these foundational skills that are critical to future student success.

Educator Recruitment and Pipeline
EdTrust-New York welcomes the budget’s support for developing and retaining an effective and diverse teaching workforce, including the creation of alternative teacher preparation pathways, expansion of P-TEACH, and the establishment of a new task force on teacher shortages.

Higher Education Emergency Aid
EdTrust-New York strongly supports the Governor’s proposal to invest in and develop systemwide policies for a Statewide Emergency Aid Fund at SUNY and CUNY that covers basic needs after unexpected emergencies.

Other Educational Equity Priorities:

EdTrust-New York remains committed to collaborating with state and local leaders on several key areas, including several additional education priorities that were not included in the Governor’s budget:

• EdTrust-New York calls on the state to invest $3 million to enhance outreach to students and support the New York State Education Department in monitoring the implementation of the Universal FAFSA completion law.
• We continue to advocate for full funding of the Foundation Aid formula and for targeted improvements, including:
  • Increasing the SAIPE Poverty Weight to better support students experiencing extreme poverty.
  • Scaling the SAIPE Poverty Weight to address the heightened needs of students living in concentrated poverty.
  • Passing legislation to improve data collection and transparency requiring the annual collection and public reporting of disaggregated data on how districts and schools spend Foundation Aid funds.
• EdTrust-New York supports the New York State Education Department’s request for $5.1 million to implement NYInspires graduation measures, with a focus on technical assistance for districts and professional learning for educators. We emphasize that the state must implement these changes with strong safeguards to maintain equity and rigor for all students, particularly students of color and those from low-income backgrounds.
• We also support NYSED’s request for $10.9 million to expand College in Highschool programming, allowing more students to benefit from last year’s policy changes to this important program.

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About EdTrust-New York

EdTrust-New York is dedicated to eliminating equity and opportunity gaps that hinder students from reaching their full potential. We focus on ensuring that students of color, including Black, Latinx, Native American, and Asian American and Pacific Islander students, and those from low-income backgrounds achieve high levels of success from early childhood through college. For more information, visit EdTrustNY.org.