Hi John,

The first hearing in the Foundation Aid review process kicks off tomorrow, July 16, at the High School of Fashion Industries in NYC. We encourage you to participate and give testimony, to ensure that your voice is heard in this process so that we can ensure a more up-to-date and equitable way of funding our public schools.

If you couldn’t attend our prep sessions last week, here are the resources you’ll need:

  • Testimony guide in English

  • Testimony guide in Spanish

  • NYC prep session recording

  • Statewide prep session recording

  • Prep session presentation in English

  • Prep session presentation in Spanish

As a reminder, the Rockefeller Institute is currently gathering feedback to make nonbinding recommendations on potential revisions to the Foundation Aid formula. Your input at these hearings will inform their final report, likely influencing Governor Hochul’s education budget proposal for the next fiscal year. The Governor has tasked the Rockefeller Institute with evaluating whether the formula is “fiscally sustainable,” potentially prioritizing budgetary thriftiness over the constitutional obligation to provide every student with a sound basic education.

Submitting your written testimony to the Rockefeller Institute can take as few as ten minutes with our easy-to-follow testimony guide. Please plan to submit your testimony online by September 6.

For all hearings, stakeholder testimony will begin at 2pm, and public comment for registered speakers will begin at 5:30pm. If you want to speak at a hearing, you must submit a speaker registration form beforehand. Each hearing will be livestreamed, so if you’re unable to attend in person, you can still tune in.

Upcoming hearing dates and locations (click through the hyperlinks for the livestreams):

  • July 16: Manhattan, NYC (High School of Fashion Industries)

  • July 25: Buffalo, Western NY (North Park Community School)

  • July 30: Farmingdale, Long Island (Weldon E. Howitt Middle School)

  • August 8: Laurens, Central NY (Laurens Central School)

  • August 14: Guilderland, Capital Region (Guilderland High School)

Sharing your personal story can make a world of difference to our kids and schools. We hope you can testify in-person or online in this critical process. Thank you for your dedication to education justice.

Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari
Co-Executive Director
Alliance for Quality Education
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