Four Big Equity Issues in this Year’s Executive Budget
Following the release of Governor Cuomo’s 2017-18 Executive Budget, The Education Trust–New York has identified four of the educational equity issues that policymakers should address in order to ensure a high-quality education for all New York students—especially low-income students and students of color—from early childhood through college completion. [Click here to download the PDF version. 1. Foundation Aid What the budget does: The Executive Budget increases School Aid by $961 million, including $428 million for Foundation Aid. The State Education Department estimates that the total remaining “phase in” of Foundation Aid would cost $4.3 billion. However, the Executive Budget eliminates use of the Foundation Aid formula for increased funding in future years. Our take: The Executive Budget takes two steps backward for one step forward—with improvements to target poverty this year outweighed by the loss of predictability and transparency in future years and by not doing enough to ensure that schools serving low-income students and students of color receive the resources they need to increase achievement and opportunity. Equity points: 2. Early Childhood Education What the budget does: The Executive Budget includes a $5 million increase to expand pre-kindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds, with a focus on high-need school districts. The budget also begins a consolidation of the state’s multiple pre-k programs. The Executive Budget includes no new resources to expand the state’s under-funded early childhood quality initiative, QUALITYstarsNY. Our take: With fewer than two-thirds of 4-year-olds enrolled in quality early learning programs and even fewer 3-year-olds having access, this new investment is a step in the right direction and should be accompanied by a multi-year funding strategy to reach truly universal and high-quality early childhood education for the students with the greatest needs. Starting to consolidate programs and strengthen standards are smart moves, and there are other critical steps that New York should take now to further streamline its pre-k programs and enhance quality across the board. Equity points: 3. Teacher Equity and Support What the budget does: The Executive Budget expands the Governor’s Master Teachers Program and Empire State Excellence in Teaching Awards. It also makes “high quality professional development” eligible for state aid if offset by savings in instructional materials through adoption of free online curriculum resources. Our take: All New York State students—especially those who are starting furthest behind—need to be taught to high academic standards by strong educators. This remains a major under-addressed area of the state budget discussion. Equity points: 4. Tuition-Free College at SUNY and CUNY Institutions What the budget does: The Executive Budget provides $163 million to fund a higher education affordability initiative to cover unmet tuition costs at SUNY and CUNY for full-time students with household income up to $125,000, once the program is fully in place. Our take: As the budget process unfolds, we will evaluate the plan based on how low-income students, students of color and non-traditional students would benefit, and especially how it ensures that these groups of students will receive the financial, academic and other support they need for success in college and beyond. Equity points: Other Promising Investments and Actions that Advance Equity in the Executive Budget: