STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Gov. Kathy Hochul has outlined her $223 billion proposed executive budget that would increase funding to schools, transform state and city universities, train teachers in evidence-based literacy instruction, and extend mayoral control of New York City schools for an additional four years.
The executive budget provides investments in funding and services to meet the needs of students, teachers, and schools — providing an $825 million increase in annual School Aid, for a record total of $35.3 billion. The budget also includes the governor’s Back to Basics reading plan to ensure school districts statewide use evidence-based practices in their reading instruction.
Here’s a closer look at what the proposed budget has in store for youth and education in New York.
MAYORAL CONTROL OF NYC SCHOOLS
The budget provides a four-year extension of mayoral control of the New York City public school system.
Mayoral control of city schools has been on the books since 2002, when then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg got the state legislature to grant him authority for seven years. Prior to that, local school boards had control over the approximately 1,800 schools.
SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH CLINICS
Hochul funded 137 new school-based mental health clinics last year, bringing the statewide total to more than 1,200 sites. The clinics afford students access to mental health services provided by qualified clinicians that may not otherwise be available. They have numerous benefits, providing connections to appropriate treatment for mental health conditions, while also supporting better educational outcomes.
This year, Hochul is continuing the expansion of clinics to any New York school that wants to establish one, with continued start-up funding, enhanced reimbursement rates for school-based mental health services, and enhanced enforcement of laws that ensure all insurers pay adequately for school-based services, regardless of their insurance type or insurance plan’s…
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