District superintendents meet with legislators on BOCES Advocacy Day

On Feb. 25, 2026, district superintendents from across the state met with lawmakers to advocate for the coalition’s legislative priorities.

BOCES of NYS asks lawmakers to:

Establish a “Teachers Across New York” program modeled after the successful “Doctors Across New York” and “Nurses Across New York” programs. This would offer state-supported loan forgiveness to new teachers and those relocating to New York from other states who commit to serving in high-need New York State school districts and BOCES for five years.
Create a “Teachers for Our Future” Scholarship program based on the “Nurses for Our Future” scholarship program. This would provide free tuition at New York State public colleges and universities for candidates who commit to teaching in high-need New York State school districts and BOCES for five years.
Invest in existing statewide initiatives to recruit and retain teachers, including TEACH NY, Teacher Apprenticeships, the Teacher Ambassador program and the Master Teacher program.
Continue modernizing civil service hiring and promotion requirements.

Extend allowable lease terms between BOCES and public sector entities to 20 years to align with private sector lease terms.

Ensure districts receive at minimum the amount generated by the current Foundation Aid formula.
- Maintain hold harmless.
- Include a due minimum increase for every district.
- Ensure adequate funding to support high-need students including special education, English language learners and homeless youth.
- Update the regional cost index statewide.
- Revise the local minimum contribution to account for the impact of the tax cap.
Establish new tiers within the Reorganization Aid formula to allow districts that substantially consolidate or share programs and services to access a commensurate portion of these funds to support the start-up costs associated with the transition of these programs.
Fully fund expense-based aids.

Amend current law to provide school aid for special education students until they graduate or the end of the school year in which they turn 22.

Extend piggybacking authority under Section 103 of the General Municipal Law to June 2031.
Clarify that districts and BOCES can use this provision for multiple awards and in the context
of larger public works projects involving purchase, installation, maintenance and repair.

Establish a process to support bus purchases when bond or budget votes fail.
Assign financial and logistical responsibility for non-district infrastructure upgrades to appropriate non-district parties.
Adopt a clear definition of the “purchase” of a diesel bus to be upon entering a contract on or before June 30, 2026.