Thanks to the relentless advocacy of our members and hard work of our political team, 2024 was a historic year for NYSUT. Together we protected school funding from proposed cuts, corrected the punitive teacher evaluation system, passed reforms to Tiers 5 and 6, created a new state maximum for classroom heat and established new state standards for toileting.
Now, as we look to 2025, we stand ready to fight with you again. This month Gov. Kathy Hochul will reveal her legislative priorities during her State of the State address and executive budget presentations.
Below is a short list of just some of our major initiatives this year that will improve our members' workplaces, their lives and those of the people they serve. These include campaigns to: generate more money for New York to invest in working families, combat child poverty, update the Foundation Aid formula, and expand Career and Technical Education opportunities across our state. Stay tuned for more as the year progresses.
Statewide cellphone restrictions during school hours
Elected officials, educators, parents, students, administrators, school board members, superintendents, mental health professionals and safety experts agree: Phones distract kids during the school day, and our learning environments would be more effective without them. These devices get in the way of face-to-face communication, depriving kids of vital opportunities to create community and a genuine sense of belonging. Students are instead inundated with addictive social media platforms, cyberbullying, exploitation and unrealistic standards.
President Person says: “We have an opportunity to provide children with an average of seven hours each school day to be fully present and free from the pressures and harms of phones and social media. Now is the time to act on it.”
NYSUT wants: Statewide legislation requiring “bell-to-bell” restrictions on these cellphones — from school opening to dismissal — with exceptions allowed for instructional purposes and student health and safety needs. Such restrictions should be designed locally, with input from parents, educators, unions, and other stakeholders, specifically addressing alternative communication methods and systems for parents and caregivers.
Update the Foundation Aid formula to better serve our students
The formula has not been updated since its creation in 2007, and some elements are still based on census data from 2000. Today in many districts across New York, state aid is no longer proportional to the district's actual needs. Additionally, our schools are doing more than they ever have as students' needs and requirements are rapidly expanding. In December 2024, the Rockefeller Institute of Government released a state-ordered review of the formula to guide potential updates.
President Person says: “Updating the outdated funding formula is a critical step forward, and we support some of the report’s recommendations. However, we remain concerned about recommendations that arbitrarily lower the Foundation Aid amount instead of considering the necessary support for our schools’ evolving student populations. Any changes to the formula must prioritize stability and predictability for school districts.”
NYSUT wants: Updated Foundation Aid data to ensure every public school student has access to the high-quality education they deserve.
Fight child poverty
One in five New York children lives in poverty, and educators see its effects every day. Kids can't leave their worries, stress or hunger at the door when they come to school. We need comprehensive solutions that confront the root causes and harsh effects of poverty on hundreds of thousands of students across the state.
President Person says: “Poverty is not inevitable. It is a policy choice. No child should have to worry where their next meal will come from or where they will sleep at night in one of the wealthiest and most prosperous states in our nation.”
NYSUT wants: Transformative policy measures that include a broad expansion of the community school model, state legislation to ensure every student receives free school meals, and bills that would provide economic security to low-income families and pregnant women.
Support for SUNY, CUNY and community colleges
New York's world-class colleges and universities are increasingly strained due to years of underfunding. NYSUT successfully pushed for historic financial increases in last year’s budget, but the system needs a funding overhaul to provide affordable, sustainable access to higher education now and into the future.
President Person says: “Every New Yorker deserves access to public higher education. The time is now for New York state to invest in and strengthen our SUNY, CUNY and community colleges.”
NYSUT wants: A true New Deal for Higher Ed, including funding to substantially increase the number of full-time faculty, increase pay for adjuncts and to support SUNY hospitals. The state must also provide increased funds for student mental health services to support students who are facing financial and personal difficulties, including food insecurity.
SUNY Downstate investment
Last year, NYSUT and UUP joined a broad coalition of community members, civil rights and social justice advocates, and elected officials to successfully protest a state plan to shutter SUNY Downstate University Hospital. The state responded by naming a new advisory board to recommend how to use up to $750 million in capital funds for Downstate. The panel is expected to hold three public hearings before compiling a report and submitting it to the Legislature by April 1, 2025.
SUNY Downstate faculty and staff not only provide medical services that maintain the health and well-being of Brooklyn residents, but also train the next generation of health care professionals who will expand the health care workforce.
President Person says: "Reimagining SUNY Downstate with funding and state support could be transformative for Central Brooklyn. Here is an opportunity to provide greater healthcare access and more targeted services in neighborhoods that desperately need them.”
NYSUT wants: The state to make a serious investment in SUNY Downstate with the goal of turning it into a comprehensive healthcare center that aligns with its community’s unique needs.
Fix Tiers 5 & 6
It’s been over a decade since Tier 6 became part of the New York state pension system. Since then, over 100,000 NYSUT members earn a significantly reduced pension as compared to earlier tiers. Fixing Tier 6 is about fairness and about keeping the teaching profession attractive.
Last year we achieved the biggest pension reform win in 20 years, which dropped the Final Average Salary calculation from five to three years for Tier 6 members. But there is still much to be done.
President Person says: “Tier 6 only creates inequity, giving new public workers significantly fewer benefits than their longer-serving colleagues. To make education a profession of choice, our members need retirement plans they can rely on."
NYSUT wants: To chip away at the unfair elements of Tier 6, alongside our union partners, until we have achieved Tier 6 parity with earlier tiers.
BOCES funding for CTE programs
Industries are in critical need of workers with technical skills and experience. Every day we hear about programs where there are hundreds of students on waiting lists for a few coveted CTE courses. But BOCES and specialized programs in the Big Five school districts have limited ability to expand these programs, partly due to an outdated funding structure from 1990.
President Person says: “CTE programs work; they engage students and teachers, they prepare kids with skills and certifications to enter careers, and they have a tremendous impact on our state, both now and in the future.”
NYSUT wants: To update both the BOCES and Special Services Aid formulas. This will give BOCES and programs within the Big Five flexibility to create and expand CTE courses, creating solid career pathways for our students and making sure New York’s workforce is the strongest in the country.
Educator tax credit
More than 90% of teachers spend their own money on school supplies and other items their students need to succeed, according to a 2022 NEA study. In the last five years, average educator spending on needed supplies is estimated to have grown from $500 to over $800 each year. We know our educators care for their students. And now we need to make sure New York state cares for its educators.
President Person says: “I hear from so many members about how much they spend for their classrooms to buy supplies, tissues, snacks and even furniture. That’s why we’re fighting for an educator tax credit in this upcoming state budget — to put that money back in teachers’ pockets.”
NYSUT wants: A new educator tax credit of up to $1,000 to offset the expenses educators spend to address student needs.
Share Our Wealth
While billionaires in New York stockpile their enormous wealth, our public schools, healthcare, and vital services like transportation, housing and childcare are underfunded. It’s time to come together as a nonpartisan coalition of working people to demand an economic system that serves all of us.
President Person says: “The very rich are getting richer at the expense of working Americans, who feel like they’re working harder than ever, on a treadmill that keeps speeding up.”
NYSUT wants: To increase New York’s top tax rates for those earning over $5 million and over $25 million by 0.5% and increase the corporate tax rate by 1.75%. These small reforms would generate more than $2 billion for the state to invest in working-class New Yorkers’ basic needs.