Governor Kathy Hochul highlighted historic education funding included in the FY 2024 Budget, including a record $34.5 billion in total School Aid for the school year 2023-24, marking the highest level of State aid ever. Governor Hochul was joined by students participating in a STEAM-focused after-school program.
“The past few years have been incredibly challenging for our students, and now we need to provide our communities with the resources they need to succeed,” said Governor Hochul. “This budget takes transformative action to keep our children on track for success. Our students hold the key for New York’s bright future, and our investment in education is making sure that future is brighter than ever.”
The transformative investments included in the budget to support schools include:
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Historic $34.5 billion in total School Aid, the highest level of State aid in history. This includes $24 billion for Foundation Aid—a $2.6 billion increase from last year—to deliver on Governor Hochul’s promise to fully fund Foundation Aid for the first time in history. New York continues to provide the most education funding per pupil in the nation.
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This funding will allow some localities to reduce property taxes for families, in addition to helping give every child in New York the tools to succeed through high-quality education.
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$150 million to expand high-quality prekindergarten programs to 20,000 children across the State, bringing the State’s total annual prekindergarten investment to more than $1.2 billion.
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$134 million of State funds to incentivize qualifying low-income public and nonpublic schools to participate in the federal Community Eligibility Provision program, allowing all students in those schools to eat breakfast and lunch at no charge.
State Senator Patricia Canzoneri-