Ensuring Equity Online
The school year that is now nearly halfway complete has been exceptionally challenging for New York students and educators.
The ongoing effects of the pandemic, ever-evolving adjustments to teaching and learning, and the continued national reckoning with systemic racism are all taking their toll on educators and their students.
Yet across New York State, students and educators continue to persevere through one of the most challenging times facing schools in our lifetime.
Here are their stories.
How New York Educators are Working to Ensure Equity Online
2025 FAFSA Challenge: Celebrating the Schools and Students Making an Impact
New York schools are boosting FAFSA completion with one-on-one financial aid support and innovative events that help students and families navigate college opportunities.
New Data from the New York Equity Coalition Reveals Persistent Racial Gaps in Educator Representation and Retention
The interactive tool lets users explore disparities in student and teacher demographics, teacher retention rates by race and ethnicity, and district-specific data across various types of school communities, including New York City, the Big 4 districts (Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers), and diverse geographic areas such as urban, suburban and rural areas.
EdTrust-New York Calls for Urgent Action After NAEP Data Confirms National Education Crisis
The disparities in NAEP scores are unacceptable and preventable. This crisis demands urgency. New York State must respond with bold, systemic change: investing in high-quality teaching, equitable resources, and targeted support that ensure every student, regardless of race or background, graduates with the essential reading and math skills they need to succeed.
How New York Can Protect Children, Students, and Families from Federal Attacks on Medicaid and SNAP
New York ranks 40th in child poverty. The state’s Child Poverty Reduction Act aims to cut that rate in half within a decade, but harmful federal cuts to Medicaid and SNAP threaten progress — compounding hardship for millions of families.
New Poll Reveals Strong Parent and Voter Support for Education Data System in New York, Calls for Equity and Transparency in Development
A new statewide poll released by EdTrust-New York reveals widespread support among New York parents and voters for the development of a Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) that connects education and workforce data from early childhood through college and into careers. At the same time, the findings emphasize the urgent need for equity, privacy protection, and community partnership in the system’s design.
How New York Can Protect Children from Federal Attacks on Head Start and Early Education
The Trump administration’s actions threaten New York’s youngest learners by cutting Head Start funding, restricting access, and advancing anti-immigrant policies. Without action, these federal attacks could harm children and families for generations.
EdTrust-New York Calls for Transparency and Truth in Response to Preliminary 2024–25 State Assessment Data Release
EdTrust-New York welcomes the New York State Education Department’s (NYSED) release of preliminary data from the 2024-25 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Grades 5 and 8 Science assessments ahead of the new school year. However, the data raises more questions than it answers. We believe transparent, accessible data is essential to informing instruction, supporting families, and driving equity-centered decision-making throughout New York’s education system.
How New York Can Protect Students from Federal Attacks on Higher Education Access
New York has made real progress in breaking down financial barriers to higher education. But now, new anti-student and anti-borrower federal policies sabotage that very progress — pushing higher education further out of reach for the very students New York has fought to support.
EdTrust-New York Supports Graduate Portrait Goals, Warns of Equity Risks in New Graduation Measures
EdTrust-New York supports the state’s new Portrait of a Graduate, particularly its focus on culturally responsive education and real-world readiness. However, we remain deeply concerned that eliminating the Regents exams and implementing new graduation measures could weaken educational equity.
New York Must Act Now to Address the Adolescent Literacy Crisis
In its new report titled “Every Grade Counts: The State of Adolescent Literacy in New York,” EdTrust-New York builds on its 2023 early literacy work and highlights the urgent need for bold state and local action. The report urges leaders to provide older students, who were never properly taught how to read in elementary school, with resources and targeted support aligned to the science of reading.