Last week, New York lawmakers passed a new budget that will give school districts $1.1 billion less than what state education officials wanted.
For the first time Monday, New York’s Board of Regents will discuss the fresh spending plan, which will send $27.9 billion to school districts across the state, and how that will affect New York’s schools.
It’s not unusual for Regents to get substantially less than they asked for. Last year, the state budget was $600 million less than what education officials had hoped for.
Most of the Regents’ request was for a boost in foundation aid, a formula that sends extra dollars to high-needs districts. While the Democratic majority in both houses supported increasing this spending category by $1.2 billion, the budget allocates $618 million instead — the same amount as last year.
On Tuesday, Regents will discuss strengthening requirements for student teachers seeking their certification, although any policy change wouldn’t take effect until 2022. They’ll also talk about tweaks to professional development plans that school districts are required to submit to the state. One of those changes would require districts to show how training for teachers and curriculum development is culturally responsive.