Board of Regents Advances Budget and Legislative Priorities for the 2025-26 School Year

The New York State Board of Regents today outlined its budget and legislative priorities for the 2025-26 school year. Priorities include funding that will foster equity across New York State, promote historic preservation and better public experiences at the State Museum, State Library, and State Archives, and support students’ access to postsecondary education and preparation to enter the workforce. Commissioner Betty A. Rosa highlighted the need for four meaningful updates to school aid formulas to ensure access to a world-class education for all.

The Board’s top legislative and budget proposals include funding for the State Education Department to begin implementing the recommendations from the Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures, which were presented to the Board of Regents in November. Additional State Aid requests include funding to support students with disabilities, planning to create a high school for students in detention, raising the BOCES Aid salary cap, and increasing participation in Career and Technical Education.

The proposals also continue to seek growth aid for districts experiencing an influx in enrollment that same school year, expand Universal Prekindergarten services at a higher per pupil rate targeting locations with unmet needs, and address capital needs at State-owned buildings, including the State Education Building.

Chancellor Lester W. Young, Jr. said, "The Board of Regents is dedicated to ensuring that all students in New York State, regardless of their background or circumstances, have access to the opportunities and resources they need to thrive academically and beyond. The Board's legislative and budget priorities aim to provide a clear roadmap for addressing the diverse needs of New York's students throughout their developmental continuum."

Commissioner Rosa said, “It is imperative that we invest in the future of our students, the quality of their schools, and the development of the teachers and administrators who support them. This year’s budget and legislative priorities will fund initiatives across the board to enhance New York students’ educations, open pathways to further learning, and improve the caliber of our workforce for years to come. At the heart of this effort is a commitment to equity, striving to ensure that every student, in every community, receives the support they need to succeed and reach their full potential.”

State Aid Proposal

The Regents State Aid proposal calls for a $2 billion increase in State Aid for the 2025-26 school year. The budget request includes:

• $1.67 billion increase in Foundation Aid, a $229.0 million increase over current law projections, including updating Census poverty rates, updating the Regional Cost Index, replacing free/reduced price meal counts with economically disadvantaged counts, and eliminating the artificial floor on the income wealth index.
• $172.9 million increase for formula enhancements, including enhanced reimbursement for BOCES aid to expand access to Career and Technical Education (CTE), enhanced special services aids for non-component BOCES, a new round of Universal Prekindergarten grants, and support for students with disabilities through age 22. 
• $205.7 million increase in reimbursement-based Aid under current law

Budget and Legislative Priority Highlights

The priorities outlined in the Regents proposal will address the current needs of schools across the state based on updated metrics that identify the key factors to supporting equity in education. These priorities include:

• Graduation Measures: $2.3 million for the Department to begin implementing Blue Ribbon Commission’s recommendations.
• Bilingual Education Aid: $1 million increase to address the expanding need for bilingual instruction and increase the number of certified teachers of English Language Learners.
• Universal Prekindergarten: $25 million to expand funding to districts interested in providing additional services that have students who remain unserved under existing funding streams, districts with English language learners, and districts serving economically disadvantaged students.
• Office of Cultural Education Revenue Stabilization: $12 million State general fund appropriation or a $10 fee increase to provide consistent funding to the State Museum, State Library, and the State Archives to protect the state’s historical artifacts.
• Cultural Education Center: $5.5 million for specific renovations and equipment repairs, including fully operating and up-to-date facilities for theater, document preservation, and customer comfort.
• Enrollment Growth: The development of a “Growth Aid” formula to assist districts experiencing rapid enrollment growth and/or influxes in the number of students with a particular set of needs that school year, including English Language Learners, to ensure that districts can educate all school-age children without delay.
• Career and Technical Education (CTE): $53.8 million to increase the salary limit for BOCES aid to enable more students to participate in programs that prepare them for successful careers, and $49.2 million to support students in career, technical, occupational, and business education in districts that do not participate in a BOCES program.
• Free and Appropriate Education for Students with Disabilities: $65.4 million to provide Free and Appropriate Education to students with disabilities until age 22, including $20.6 million in foundation aid, to align with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in A.R. v. Connecticut Board of Education which requires that public schools in New York provide special education and related services to resident students with disabilities until the day before the student’s 22^nd birthday, unless they have obtained a high school diploma.
• Higher Education Access and Opportunity Programs: $16.9 million for programs that promote equity in access to higher education through financial and academic support services, including the Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP), the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), the Liberty Partnerships Program (LPP), and the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), as well as $2 million to support postsecondary success for students with disabilities.
• Arts Education and Programming: $300,000 to study gaps in arts education and $2 million ($800,000 increase) to provide residential programming (in 2025) and scholarships (in 2024) for the New York State Summer School for the Arts.
• Data Infrastructure and Operational Effectiveness: $4.8 million to support the next phase of improvements and to enhance data integration, security, and analytics to support decision-making and resource allocation.

A full description of the Board’s 2025-26 Legislative and Budget priorities may be found on the Department’s website.