This bill allows cities with over 1 million residents (like New York City) to add a 4.3% surcharge on personal income tax for residents earning over $500,000, effective January 2026. It applies to married couples filing jointly, single filers, heads of household, and estates/trusts. All revenue from this surcharge must be used exclusively for early childhood education programs in the city, not general funds. The surcharge expires December 2030, and cities must adopt the local law by December 2025.
Prohibits cannabis retail and on-site consumption licensees from operating such premises within one thousand feet of the perimeter of a school grounds; prohibits the advertising and marketing of cannabis content within one thousand feet of the perimeter of a school grounds, playgrounds, child day care providers, public parks, and libraries.
Clarifies the responsibility of school districts for certain temporary-resident preschool children with disabilities who are in foster care, are homeless or are in residential care.
Requires funding for special education services and programs for preschool children with disabilities to cover joint classroom instruction for such children with disabilities and other children for the same number of hours each day.
Creates a single, streamlined process whereby a facility or program operating both a pre-kindergarten program and a daycare program may apply for and receive any certification, licensing, or other requirement otherwise necessary to operate a pre-kindergarten program or daycare program under the laws of the state.
This bill requires New York's state librarian to develop and distribute evidence-based guidance on core reading skills (like phonemic awareness, fluency, and comprehension) for libraries serving pre-K through 5th-grade students, with separate guidance for older students and adults. The guidance, created within one year of the law taking effect, must be based on existing education standards and shared with all public and association libraries statewide. Libraries will receive resources such as texts, educational technology, and professional materials to support literacy programs. The state librarian must update this guidance every two years, incorporating feedback from libraries.
This bill sets an annual growth rate for tuition and reimbursement payments to schools and programs serving students with disabilities. It directly affects private schools, special act school districts, and approved preschool programs providing special education services for school-age and preschool children with disabilities. The key provision ties future rate increases to the difference between current and base-year public school funding levels, but ensures rates never decrease (the growth rate is the greater of this difference or zero). This creates a predictable, inflation-linked funding mechanism for these specialized education programs.
Creates the task force on early childhood education in public education to study the feasibility of incorporating younger age levels into the state public education system and extending the public education system to start at the age of six months and incorporate aspects of childcare and early childhood education into the existing public education system.
Requires school districts to provide instructional programming and services in reading and literacy which are evidence based and aligned with state standards; requires teachers in grades pre-K through five to attend professional development courses in reading education.
This bill directs New York's education commissioner to create a statewide pilot program improving social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools, requiring every school district to implement it in at least one school within 12 months. The program must use pre-tested SEL curricula meeting specific standards (including evidence from federal clearinghouses and community service components) and be delivered through approved community organizations. All participating schools must integrate SEL into lessons or standalone classes for students from pre-K through 12th grade. The program will be evaluated by the state education department, with a final report due by July 2029, and is funded through state appropriations with an expiration date of August 2029.
