How is the Center for Educational Equity/American Institutes of Research study different from the Rockefeller Institute’s study?
The Rockefeller Institute is authorized to develop recommendations for limited modifications to the current formula—so long as they are “fiscally sustainable for the state. In contrast, the ACE (Adequate, Constitutional, Equitable) School Funding Project of the Center for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia University, and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) will begin the process for developing a comprehensive new school funding formula that will comply with the constitution and meet current student needs. While we expect our project to consider cost-effectiveness and ways to eliminate unnecessary state mandates and other unnecessary spendings, we intend to adhere to the requirement in the state onstitution to determine the “actual cost” of providing all students the opportunity for a sound basic education and not be constrained by political concepts of what may be “fiscally sustainable for the state.”
The study will have two parts:
During Phase I, to be completed by the end of 2024, AIR will
- undertake a cost-function analysis of current student needs in New York State;
- analyze the recommendations emerging from the Rockefeller Institute’s Foundation Aid project; and
- provide the Center for Educational Equity with the data and analyses necessary to 1) evaluate and respond to the Rockefeller Institute study and to Governor Hochul’s budget proposal for FY 2025-2026, and 2) present alternative proposals and positions, as necessary.
The Center intends to communicate regularly with interested groups and individuals as this project proceeds and to solicit input on to the data it develops, the concepts it is considering, and the proposals it will issue.
In Phase II, we plan to conduct further analysis that includes as well as qualitative information and input from professionals and the public throughout the state by convening professional judgment panels and public engagement forums. This phase will culminate in the development of a detailed proposal for a new constitutional school funding formula to be proposed for adoption by the governor and the legislature in April 2026.
We hope that, over the next few months, the governor and the legislature will authorize the State Education Department or a state-authorized commission to undertake these tasks. In that event, we will share with NYSED or the commission the data that AIR has produced in Phase I. If, however, the state does not agree to fulfill its constitutional obligation in this way, we intend to continue this independent effort in partnership with AIR to develop an appropriate comprehensive new formula, build public support for it, and advocate for its adoption by the governor and the legislature in April 2026.