The Alliance for Quality Education, a public education advocacy group, has called for a major overhaul of New York’s school funding system.
The group’s recent report emphasized a need to revisit the 16-year-old formula that distributes state funds among districts. Despite the state’s $229 billion budget allocating a record $34.5 billion for education, including $24 billion in direct aid, the group contends that the foundation aid may no longer meet current educational needs.
The report urges State Education Department officials to initiate a public process for gathering feedback, particularly from “marginalized voices,” to determine additional resource needs relating to student poverty.
Other recommendations include assessing strategies to support multilingual learners and improving funding for special education. Lawmakers are also encouraged to earmark funds to research possible alterations to the funding formula, a step not included in the final budget agreement in May.
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