Newsroom

Hochul’s Late Budget Has Cut New York City’s Families Off From Child Care Support

“Starting today children in New York City are being cut off from the child care vouchers families rely on, all thanks to the political impasse that Governor Kathy Hochul has orchestrated over the late state budget — now the latest budget New York has had in 15 years,” said Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari and Marina Marcou-O’Malley, Co-Executive … Continue reading Hochul’s Late Budget Has Cut New York City’s Families Off From Child Care Support

AQE Responds to Governor Hochul’s Proposal to Weaken New York’s Substantial Equivalency Law

New York’s leaders should reject any deal that weakens substantial equivalence and the state’s responsibility to ensure a sound basic education for all students. Every young person – regardless of the school they attend – has the right to an education that includes core subjects like English and math. These subjects are not just academic … Continue reading AQE Responds to Governor Hochul’s Proposal to Weaken New York’s Substantial Equivalency Law

Tell Governor Hochul to Protect Education Standards for ALL Students

Governor Hochul is preparing a deal that would weaken learning standards for thousands of New York students. Once again, she is playing politics with their education. She’s proposing changes that would allow religious schools to continue operating without teaching core subjects like English and math to the “sound basic education” standards, and would roll back … Continue reading Tell Governor Hochul to Protect Education Standards for ALL Students

AQE Responds to Governor Hochul’s Budget Announcement

Black, brown, lower-income, and immigrant communities needed transformative investments: an updated Foundation Aid formula to ensure equitable school funding, significant investment in universal child care, and real economic justice. Instead, the announcement of the budget deal reflects incremental progress and continued compromises, leaving too many uncertain about their future. This repeated cycle of uncertainty over … Continue reading AQE Responds to Governor Hochul’s Budget Announcement

Mayor Adams announces expansion of free after-school programs with goal of making it universal

Mayor Adams proposed “After-School for All” expansion, priced at $331 million by the 2027-28 school year, may if implemented provide around 184,000 additional seats for public school students in kindergarten through 5th grade. Whether or not the eprogram can be truly universal and have enough seats to provide programming to any family who wants it … Continue reading Mayor Adams announces expansion of free after-school programs with goal of making it universal

Help make a final push for Foundation Aid in the budget

Late last night, Governor Hochul announced a broad budget agreement — and although there were some specifics, when it comes to the Foundation Aid formula, the details are still not clear. However, based on what we know, there’s a real possibility that public schools across are at serious risk of losing significant funding due to Foundation … Continue reading Help make a final push for Foundation Aid in the budget

Last Minute Stand Needed for the Child Care Workforce Caring for Our Kids

We’re hearing a final budget deal has been reached – and once again, the budget is poised to leave the child care workforce behind. No permanent wage funding. No real plan to stabilize a system in crisis.  But it’s not over yet. Legislators are still finalizing the bills that will shape our state budget for … Continue reading Last Minute Stand Needed for the Child Care Workforce Caring for Our Kids

Hochul won’t rule out nonpublic school regs rollback in budget

Governor Hochul and legislative leaders are considering weakening education standards for nonpublic schools – including religious yeshivas – as part of budget negotiations, which could undermine recent stricter equivalency rules for public school alternatives. Critics warn that lowering standards, particularly for core subjects like math and English, risks harming students’ education and politicizing school accountability, … Continue reading Hochul won’t rule out nonpublic school regs rollback in budget

Urge Our Leaders to Protect Public Education Funding

Governor Hochul is delaying key funding decisions for public education, and we need your help to make sure our schools and their communities get the support they need. Email your representatives now, calling on them to prioritize public education in their final budget. First off, the Foundation Aid formula must be updated to make sure … Continue reading Urge Our Leaders to Protect Public Education Funding