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A school bus for a Yeshiva in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
New York’s Ultra-Orthodox Yeshivas Challenge New State Education Mandates

New state education rules will cut funding to private schools that can’t provide the same level of education as public schools. The ultra-Orthodox community is fighting back.

Mel Hyman   ·   February 24, 2025
New York Student Test Scores Show Little Improvement Post-Pandemic

Student performance in math and reading is still below pre-pandemic levels, according to new data — but on par with the national average.

Bianca Fortis   ·   January 29, 2025
Photo collage of a desk with a notepad and voice recorder in a newsroom.
Reporters’ Notebook: Green Funding Feint, Foundation Aid Update, and Lobbying Fines

Hochul proposes school funding updates and a climate funding alternative. A prominent lobbying firm racks up fines.

Bianca Fortis, Colin Kinniburgh and Chris Bragg   ·   January 24, 2025
Hochul Unveils Universal Free School Meals Program: State of the State 2025

The governor also wants to make some community college programs free. But she didn’t touch the thorniest issue: the school funding formula.

Bianca Fortis   ·   January 15, 2025
Photo collage of a desk with a notepad and voice recorder in a newsroom.
Reporters’ Notebook: Covering Governor Hochul’s 2025 State of the State

Our team will be descending upon Albany on Tuesday. Here’s what they’ll be watching.

New York Focus   ·   January 13, 2025
Trump’s Education Priorities, Foundation Aid, and Mayoral Control: 2024 in Review

New York Focus education reporter Bianca Fortis reflects on the most important education stories in New York this year, and what to keep an eye on next year.

Bianca Fortis   ·   December 30, 2024
A row of electric Lion school buses charge at a row of charging stations.
‘In a Bind’: Some New Yorkers Reject Transition to Electric School Buses, Despite Mandate

New York’s push for electric school buses by 2027 has districts across the state struggling with voter approval and funding.

Bianca Fortis   ·   December 18, 2024
Photo collage of Donald Trump in front of school desks, with a map of New York state in the background.
What Trump’s Second Term Could Mean for New York Schools

A review of Trump’s first term, along with his campaign promises and details found within Project 2025, indicate what’s to come in New York.

Bianca Fortis   ·   November 20, 2024
Rows of desks in a classroom with a roll of dollar bills on each desk.
In Brief: What Is Foundation Aid, New York’s School-Funding Formula?

Here’s a simple explanation of a complicated and archaic formula — and why the state is updating it.

Bianca Fortis   ·   November 18, 2024
Empty schoolroom chairs face a large help wanted sign.
Why Can’t New York Keep Up With the Demand for Bilingual Teachers?

Years of shortages have led to a staggering problem across the state, with few solutions on the horizon.

Bianca Fortis   ·   October 18, 2024
A child outside a day center
New York Child Care Providers Are Bleeding Workers as Federal Money Dries Up

Nearly half of the state’s child care providers have raised tuition and a third have lost staff, a new report found.

Julia Rock   ·   October 1, 2024
Governor Cuomo signing a bill
Small School Districts Face Costs of Settling Decades-Old Abuse Claims

Hundreds of Child Victims Act cases have been filed against New York schools, some over accused serial offenders that could leave districts with tens of millions of dollars in liability.

Bianca Fortis   ·   September 5, 2024
Three small pails sit atop a counter, one filled with pencils, another filled with markers, and another filled with sticky notes.
Are You a New York Teacher Spending Your Own Money on School Supplies?

We’re collecting stories from teachers across the state.

Bianca Fortis   ·   August 14, 2024
A nurse stands at a computer in a school nurse's office
Lacking State Funding, Rural Schools Struggle to Provide Remote Health Care

In rural school districts where doctors are hard to find, in-school telehealth services seemed like a good solution. Then New York state stopped funding them.

Bianca Fortis   ·   June 5, 2024
Student protesters gather at Columbia's Hamilton Hall or "Hind's Hall," renamed after Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl who was shot to death with paramedics on an IDF-supplied emergency route. On the right, they hang a banner that says "HIND'S HALL." Protesters sit up high on a facade.
The NYPD Descent on Columbia, Told by Student Journalists

The mayor and the police blamed “outside agitators” for campus protests. Student journalists reported what they saw.

Uzma Afreen, Angelica Ang, Fahima Degia, Mukta Joshi, Arshi Qureshi, Indy Scholtens and Sammy Sussman   ·   May 2, 2024
A sign reads "IDAs DRAIN $1.8 BILLION A YEAR FROM NEW YORK SCHOOLS."
Unions Join the Fight to Slash Economic Development Tax Breaks

When local authorities hand out subsidies, school budgets lose revenue. The state teachers union is now pushing back.

Arabella Saunders   ·   February 2, 2024
A classroom full of students with the teacher's silhouette filled in with pennies.
When Schools Assign Substitutes the Wrong Status, the Error Suppresses Their Pay

Long-term subs stay with the same classes and can serve like full-time teachers. New York City schools misclassify them — so their pay doesn’t reflect that.

Teddy Ostrow   ·   January 31, 2024
In school classroom full of children, a teacher silhouette of a teacher is filled in with microscopic coronaviruses.
In New York City Schools, Substitute Teachers Are Systematically Denied Covid Sick Pay

The state established Covid leave to compensate employees who fell ill during the pandemic. One group of essential workers has been unable to claim it.

Teddy Ostrow   ·   January 29, 2024
Whatever Happened to New York’s School Facial Recognition Ban?

In 2020, New York became the first state to ban biometric technology from schools. But administrators are still seeking “face analytics” tools and other gray-area tech — with scant guidance from the state.

Rebecca Heilweil   ·   March 28, 2023
For Scandal-Plagued For-Profit Colleges, No State Is More Welcoming Than New York

As ASA College prepares to shut its doors after years of controversy, New York continues to shell out tuition subsidies to for-profit colleges — at rates higher than any other state.

Lilah Burke   ·   February 23, 2023
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