Governor Hochul Announces Historic Education Investments and Signs Legislation to Improve Reading Proficiency in FY 2025 Budget

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Governor Kathy Hochul today announced historic P-12 education investments in the FY 2025 Budget, including nearly $36 billion in total School Aid for the 2024-2025 school year – the highest level of school funding in state history. The Governor also signed her ‘Back to Basics’ legislation to improve literacy education. The Budget also extends mayoral control of New York City schools for two years and commissions a study to examine the Foundation Aid formula to ensure the long-term fiscal sustainability of education funding.

“Every student deserves a high-quality education in the State of New York,” Governor Hochul said. “This Budget builds on our record funding for education, lays the groundwork to improve reading proficiency, and puts the state on a path to a more equitable school funding formula.”

School Aid and the Foundation Aid Formula

The FY 2025 Budget invests record funding in School Aid – $35.9 billion, including $24.9 billion in Foundation Aid. Since Governor Hochul took office, she has increased School Aid by the largest amount ever, a $6.5 billion increase over three years.

This year, Governor Hochul and the Legislature worked together to ensure schools are getting the support they need while still recognizing the need to modify the Foundation Aid formula. Through the Budget, Governor Hochul is lowering the inflation factor from 3.4 percent to 2.8 percent in the formula to right-size funding for the 2024-25 school year. The Budget also commissions a Rockefeller Institute study to examine the Foundation Aid formula to prepare for changes next year.

Back to Basics Reading Plan

Governor Hochul’s ‘Back to Basics’ reading plan ensures every school district utilizes instructional best practices grounded in the science of reading to improve reading proficiency among New York’s children. The State Education Department (SED) will provide instructional best practices to school districts in the teaching of reading to students in prekindergarten through grade three by January 1, 2025. School districts will be required to annually review their curriculum and instructional practices for alignment with those issued by SED, and verify by September 2025.

The Budget also includes $10 million to train 20,000 teachers in these instructional best practices. Additionally, the Budget expands the State University of New York and the City University of New York’s microcredentialing programs for teachers focused on the science of reading to ensure current and future teachers seeking advanced education are best prepared.

New York City School Governance

The FY 2025 Budget provides a two-year extension of the current system of governance of New York City public schools, which is currently scheduled to expire on June 30, 2024. In connection with this extension, the Budget also establishes a process for selecting an independent chairperson for the schools’ Panel for Educational Policy and updates the maintenance of effort requirement in State law in regard to the City’s funding of its public schools.