Education conference committee opens budget talks, focuses on foundation aid, UPK and cell-phone rules

The Joint Conference Committee on Education met for its initial session to begin developing recommendations for the State fiscal year 2526 education budget. Assembly Chair Benedetto and Senator Shelley Mayer, who is chair of the Senate Education Committee, co-chaired the meeting and outlined competing one‑house budget priorities including foundation aid changes, expanded UPK funding, library support and a proposed restriction on student cell‑phone use in schools.

Lawmakers said the meeting was intended to launch negotiations and to identify where the Assembly and Senate can reach agreement. “The Senate is committed to making sure any modifications to the foundation aid formula are responsive to the needs of our students and districts,” Senator Shelley Mayer said, noting the Senate one‑house increase of $680 million above the governor’s proposal. Assembly leaders described a larger Assembly one‑house proposal that would increase school aid by $2.7 billion, to a total of $38.5 billion, including an Assembly‑proposed $2 billion increase in foundation aid (reported by the Assembly as bringing foundation aid to a total of $27 billion in the Assembly plan). (All dollar figures and program totals are as stated by speakers at the meeting.)

Why it matters: Foundation aid is the primary state formula for distributing school operating aid. Committee members said they want the regional cost index and other formula inputs to better reflect current local costs and need. The way those formula changes are implemented will affect how hundreds of millions — and in aggregate billions — of dollars flow among districts statewide.

Key proposal elements discussed. Senate and Assembly members outlined a set of technical and programmatic changes they expect to negotiate: • Regional cost index and pupil‑need factors: Both houses said they want the regional cost index updated so it more accurately reflects minimum education costs in higher‑cost regions. The Assembly described a proposal to take the greater of a 2006 base index or 2024 updated values for each region and to change several pupil‑need factors: increasing the English‑language‑learner factor from 0.5 to 0.65 and phasing down the income/wealth index floor from 0.65 to 0 over three years. (Assembly description; text as spoken at the meeting.) • Foundation aid totals: The Senate one‑house plan showed an additional $680 million over the governor’s proposal; the Assembly one‑house plan presented by Assembly leadership proposed a $2.7 billion increase in school aid overall, which Assembly leaders said includes a $2 billion boost for foundation aid. Speakers said they will reconcile those differences in conference negotiations. • Universal pre‑K (UPK) and early childhood: The Assembly outlined a UPK increase of $327.4 million to expand slots and to raise the minimum pupil rate to $10,000 in districts already providing UPK. The Assembly also proposed raising an affordable salary cap for UPK instructors from $30,000 to $40,000 and phasing to $60,000 over three years (Assembly presentation). • Special education and other targeted programs: Members discussed continued support for students with disabilities and for 4201, 4410 and other special‑act programs. The Assembly said it proposed additional funding for schools for the blind and deaf and increased capital and operating amounts for targeted programs, including an additional $2 million for the My Brother’s Keeper initiative. • Libraries and cultural institutions: Senators and Assembly members described increases for school library materials, library operating and library construction aid. The Assembly said it added $14.8 million in school library materials aid (to a total the Assembly described as $32.4 million) and restored funding for research centers including the Schomburg Center and Langston Hughes Center in the City of New York. The Senate and Assembly representatives both said they intend to maintain support for public and school libraries across the state. • Technology and connectivity: The Assembly described proposals to fund internet‑enabled devices. The one‑house presentation included an additional $25 million to support internet‑enabled devices, described in the Assembly presentation as part of a larger set of device and connectivity dollars. • Career and technical education (CTE) and BOCES staff pay: Committee members said they support higher salary caps for BOCES CTE staff and additional investments in CTE programs that provide workforce pathways to technical and trade jobs. • School cell‑phone policy: Several members discussed a Senate proposal to limit or ban student cell‑phone use during the school day to reduce distraction. Senator Mayer described a Senate approach intended to allow districts flexibility while reducing social‑media pressure in classrooms; others described a bell‑to‑bell prohibition as one option and urged flexibility for districts that already have long‑standing policies in place.

Process and next steps. Members emphasized that this first meeting was to frame priorities; several lawmakers — including minority conference representatives — urged a continuing series of meetings so majority and minority members can press for changes and review technical details. Chair Benedetto said the committee will take direction from the larger conference (the full general conference body) on scheduling additional subcommittee sessions. Lawmakers agreed to continue bicameral, bipartisan negotiations with the stated goal of finalizing education elements as part of an on‑time state budget.

What was not decided. The committee held no formal votes and recorded no final actions in this initial meeting. Members described proposals and one‑house totals but did not adopt a conference‑level recommendation. Specifics of how formula changes (for example, the regional cost index and pupil‑need factor adjustments) will be implemented were not finalized; lawmakers said those technical designs will be worked out in follow‑up negotiations and technical sessions.

Looking ahead. Members said the committee will meet again at the call of the general conference committee; they emphasized shared priorities — from foundation aid updates to UPK expansion, library funding, supports for students with disabilities, CTE funding and a school cell‑phone policy — and indicated they expect to continue negotiating program totals and formula changes in the weeks ahead.