NYSUT notches big wins in 2026–27 state budget

he state budget was enacted at the end of May after a nearly eight-week delay — making this the latest budget in 16 years. The delay didn’t diminish the impacts we were able to make in the halls of power. We took your stories about the realities you face each day in your classrooms, workplaces and personal lives — and turned them into results.

Our largest legislative victory was the Tier 6 fixes, including reduction in the retirement age by five years for TRS members and adjustments to contribution rates for ERS members. (Details on page 6.) Read on to learn how our collective effort is continuing to make a difference on your campuses and in your classrooms.

The cost of early childcare is an insurmountable burden for too many families across our state. NYSUT lobbied hard for universal pre-K funding to be included in the budget and won. The enacted state budget increases UPK funding by $432 million — a whopping 40 percent — making this one of the largest single-year investments in early childhood education in state history. This means that every district will be required to offer full-day pre-K for every eligible 4-year-old by the 2028–29 school year.

“By increasing funding alongside new seats, the state is helping ensure programs are well-supported, embedded within public schools, and staffed by educators with the training and certification children deserve,” said NYSUT President Melinda Person. “That’s how we make sure every child enters kindergarten ready to learn. This is what it looks like to put families first and build a future rooted in opportunity and affordability.”

NYSUT also lobbied successfully for a $1.03 billion increase to Foundation Aid, updating the formula with the latest census data and adjusting to better account for English language learners and unhoused students. NYSUT also secured increases for teacher centers ($21.4 million) and got the Freedom to Read Act passed by the Assembly and State Senate. That bill now heads to the governor for her signature.

NYSUT has lobbied for several years for increased funding to our state higher education systems, which have faced years of chronic underfunding and neglect. This legislative session brought victories as a direct result of our lobbying efforts, including:

• Increasing operating aid to SUNY campuses by $49.3 million;
• Increasing operating aid to CUNY campuses by $69 million;
• Increasing base aid to SUNY community colleges by $11.5 million;
• Increasing base aid to CUNY community colleges by $7.3 million.

NYSUT also continued its efforts to help SUNY Downstate return to a healthy fiscal path, securing $100 million in operating aid for the hospital, along with $150 million in capital funding to be divided among the state’s three teaching hospitals and $80 million in debt relief for those campuses.

Additionally, the SUNY and CUNY Reconnect program — designed for adult learners to earn an associate degree in high-demand fields — saw its budget greatly expanded to $63.8 million.

The statewide union secured several key victories to protect children from digital harms, including passing the Stop Online Predators Act, which establishes default safety settings for minors on online platforms, and banning operators of AI-powered chatbots from offering products to minors when those products include unsafe features. A bill requiring public schools and libraries to stock Narcan, a lifesaving opioid overdose treatment, now heads to the governor.

NYSUT fought successfully for an increase in New York’s Child Tax Credit — from $330 to $1,000 per child under the age of 4 starting this year, and from $330 to $500 for school-aged children beginning in 2027. This means more money in New Yorkers’ pockets.

The union also won a direct tool to fight back against bad-faith efforts to deceive members and break labor’s collective power. The Assembly and Senate passed a bill that explicitly prohibits organizations from falsely impersonating a labor union or an employee organization representative to deceive workers or disrupt union operations. The bill is awaiting the governor’s signature.

A bill also passed to amend the civil service law to allow public employees who suffer a work-related injury to use accrued paid time off while awaiting workers’ comp. This would have an enormous practical impact for SRP members who need to weather a gap in pay.

The union’s work on behalf of members is never over.

NYSUT will continue to push for more fixes to Tiers 5 and 6; is standing firm against private school voucher schemes that threaten to drain critical resources away from public schools (see page 7); and demanding stronger charter school accountability and meaningful community input when new charters are proposed.

NYSUT will keep fighting so every student, educator and community gets the support they deserve. And harness labor’s collective strength to make sure lawmakers seeking to keep their seats in the halls of power — from Albany to Washington — are listening. For more, see nysut.org/victories.