Education

Education is the foundation of a healthy democracy and a resilient economy. For too long, policy has treated schools as job-training pipelines focused narrowly on test scores and “marketable” skills, while underinvesting in civic knowledge, emotional development, and information that prepares students for real life. These aren’t skills that can be taught as an elective in high school; they are habits whose value must be established early in life and built over time.

At the same time, our government underinvests in schools and people who make them work. For years Albany failed to meet its obligations under the State Constitution and only paid off a multi-year debt in 2024.

Schools are one of the quintessential institutions in every community. They provide the critical infrastructure of educating future New Yorkers and a trusted gathering point for families that have a unique capacity to provide services beyond education to those in need.

We Need:

21st Century Curriculum

Schools need to do more than prepare students for employment—students should graduate ready for citizenship, healthy relationships, financial independence, and life in an increasingly digital society. This has been common knowledge for years; it’s time we updated education for the 21st century with:

• Mandatory civics that puts teaching about government and democracy back in schools to ensure students know how our system works, know why it works that way, and feel empowered to participate.
  

• Emotional regulation & decision-making to help students cope with emotional impulses. Studies show emotional regulation classes improve student behavior and reduce violent crime by 20-30%, and recidivism to violent crime by 45%
  

• Financial literacy education to prepare students for real-world economic realities like budgeting, credit, debt, investment, taxes and other topics that have long-run impact on financial well-being
  

• K-12 media & technology literacy so critical thinking and awareness of the risks and benefits of technology are a regular part of learning.
  

Social Schools

Schools are one of the core institutions of any community. Unfortunately, many families rely on them to solve problems that exist far outside the classroom—from untreated mental health needs and food insecurity to unstable housing and lack of healthcare access. Still, schools and teachers are expected to manage these issues without the staffing, funding, or support necessary to do it effectively. The result is students that fall behind academically not because of classroom instruction but because of external factors schools end up addressing.

Instead of pushing families away or overworking untrained staff, we can make schools the natural first line of defense that they are. We can prepare schools to provide resources and guidance to families in need at the most trusted and accessible location in their community. Instead of forcing parents to navigate disconnected bureaucracies, schools can be stable neighborhood hubs capable of addressing the broader conditions that shape child success.

• Expand Medicaid reimbursement pathways for school-based healthcare and mental health services
  

• Fund on-site social workers, counselors and care coordinators in high-needs schools
  

• Provide grants for schools to partner with hospitals, nonprofits, food assistance providers, and local social service organizations
  

• Allow schools to collocate healthcare clinics, counseling services, childcare, and family support programs on campus
  

• Fund universal after-school/childcare
  

• Create integrated case-management systems so schools, healthcare providers, and social services can coordinate support while maintaining privacy protections
  

• Establish outcome tracking focused on attendance, mental health stabilization, graduation rates, violence reduction, and long-term student well-being rather than test scores alone
  

High-Impact Tutoring to Close Learning Gaps

High-impact tutoring is one of the few interventions with strong evidence in closing learning gaps. Stanford’s National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA) cites gains over an academic year averaging the equivalent of an extra four months in elementary literacy and nearly ten months in high school math.

Many States, including New York, launched virtual, high-impact tutoring programs during the COVID-19 pandemic to address learning loss. Several kept their programs running when federal ESSER funding ended; New York should, too. Modern virtual learning platforms have consistently been shown to produce outcomes for individual and small group tutoring similar to in-person sessions and substantially lower cost. New York City already provides similar support in the form of the Dial-A-Teacher program, which should be upgraded and expanded.

• Create a statewide high-impact tutoring fund targeted to schools with the largest learning gaps
  

• Require funded tutoring programs to meet evidence-based standards: at least three sessions per week, consistent tutors, small groups, curriculum alignment, progress monitoring, in-school daytime and afterschool options
  

• Expand and modernize Dial-A-Teacher into a statewide virtual tutoring and homework-help platform
  

• Fund school districts to partner with certified teachers, SUNY/CUNY education programs, nonprofits, and trained tutors
  

• Use virtual tutoring platforms to reach students in under-resourced, rural, overcrowded, or hard-to-staff schools
  

• Continue provision of state grants for broadband, devices, and in-school tutoring spaces so virtual tutoring does not deepen the digital divide
  

Intelligent Use of Technology in Classrooms

Technology in schools should be judged the same way we judge any other educational intervention: does it measurably improve learning outcomes, and does it support healthy child development? Right now, too much classroom technology fails that test. Research increasingly shows that excessive screen exposure for younger children is associated with worse attention, weaker emotional regulation, poorer sleep, and lower academic performance.

At the same time, there are areas where technology clearly works. High-impact virtual tutoring and assistive technologies improve access for students with disabilities, and AI tools can reduce administrative burden on teachers and help identify where students are struggling.

New York should adopt a research-based framework that limits passive and developmentally inappropriate technology use while investing in tools that have demonstrated measurable educational value.

• Establish statewide age-based limits on nonessential screen use in early childhood and elementary classrooms
  

• Restrict the use of passive “click-through” learning software in place of direct teacher instruction for younger students
  

• Preserve local school autonomy but provide them with independent evidence standards for EdTech procurement
  

• Prioritize funding for interventions with strong outcome data, including high-impact virtual tutoring and accessibility technologies
  

• Require transparency and parental disclosure around student data collection, AI use, and algorithmic decision-making in classroom software
  

• Fund teacher training focused on evidence-based classroom technology integration rather than blanket device adoption
  

• Establish a statewide longitudinal research program to continuously evaluate educational technology effectiveness, student attention outcomes, and developmental impact so funding decisions are tied to measurable results rather than vendor marketing