New York State 2025-26 Enacted Budget: Impact on Education

New York State 2025-26 Enacted Budget: Impact on Education

Last updated on July 10th, 2025

In early May, after a delay of several weeks, the Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 State Budget. New York lawmakers have emphasized the need to safeguard economic security in the state, particularly in light of recent cuts to federal funding. This year’s budget is centered on the priority of affordability for New York’s working families, focusing on financial relief, investment in education, housing initiatives, healthcare, mental health, and support for workers, among other initiatives. The $254.3 billion enacted budget—the largest in New York’s history—allocates significant funding towards various education and child-focused programs, with the aim of supporting New York’s children from early childhood through college. Below are some of the State’s key investments in education and youth for the year 2025-2026, according to the New York State Senate website.

Early Childhood

  • Additional $400 million for Child Care Block Grant funding to provide affordable child care to families in the state (totaling $2.2 billion).
  • Establishment of a Child Care Substitute Pool.
  • $100 million in capital funding for expansion of existing child care centers and establishment of new centers.
  • $10 million in federal funds for home-based child care facility renovations.
  • $21.6 million for youth development programs.
  • $12.5 million for “Get Offline, Get Outside 2.0” to support youth programming, including sports teams, theater programs, community garden programs, music programs, and more.
  • $76.5 million for NY PLAYS for the construction and renovation of playgrounds.
  • $100 million for NY BRICKS for the construction and renovation of community centers.

K-12 Education

  • $37.6 billion for school aid (an increase of $1.7 billion).
  • $26.4 billion for Foundation Aid (a $1.4 billion increase).
  • $59.3 million to expand non-BOCES career and technical education (CTE) programs to 9th grade.
  • Increased salary cap for BOCES instructors, phasing from $30,000 to $60,000 by 2028-29.
  • $340 million for free universal school meals, providing free breakfast and lunch to all students in New York State public schools regardless of income.
  • $13.5 million for school storage solutions to support “distraction-free learning” cell phone policies.

Higher Education

  • $2.3 billion in capital funding for SUNY (an additional $160 million).
  • $580.4 million in capital funding for CUNY (an additional $83 million).
  • $14 million in operational funding for SUNY community colleges (an increase of $6 million).
  • $9.3 million in operational funding for CUNY community colleges (an increase of $4 million).
  • Establishment of the New York Opportunity Promise scholarship, a program designed for adults ages 25-55 pursuing associate degrees in high-demand fields such as teaching, nursing, engineering, and technology.
  • Restored funding for the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), providing access to higher education for educationally and economically disadvantaged students.

The 2025-2026 state budget expands opportunities for education and youth development across all age groups in New York. While your school district navigates state-funded programs and initiatives, know that RBT CPAs is here to support all of your accounting, audit, tax, and advisory needs. Contact us today to find out how we can be Remarkably Better Together.