Education Department, State

Agency Web Site: http://www.nysed.gov/

Mission

The State Education Department (SED) is the administrative agency of the Board of Regents. The Department’s primary mission is to raise the knowledge, skill, and opportunity of all the people in New York.

Budget Highlights

The State Education Department administers school aid, regulates school operations, maintains a performance accountability system, certifies teachers and administers a host of other educational programs. These include special education services, cultural education programs, such as the State Museum and the State Archives, higher and professional education programs, vocational rehabilitation and adult career and continuing education services.

The Executive Budget recommends $52 billion for the State Education Department. This is an increase of $688 million from the appropriation included in the 2012-13 Enacted Budget. This change primarily reflects an increase in appropriations necessary to support additional funding for School Aid and other education programs recommended in the Executive Budget.

The Executive Budget recommends a workforce of 2,765 FTEs for the State Education Department. This is an increase of 101 FTEs from the expected March 31, 2013 workforce level. The increase in staffing is primarily related to additional direct care positions for vocational rehabilitation services staff and for employees overseeing the licensing of professions that are regulated by the State Education Department. These positions are supported by Federal and other dedicated revenue funds.

Major budget actions include:

• School Aid Increase Targeted to High-Need School Districts: The 2013-14 Executive Budget recommends $20.8 billion in School Aid for the 2013-14 school year, a year-to-year increase of $611, or 3 percent. This includes $50 million which will be used for new competitive management and performance grants. Seventy-five percent of this allocated increase is provided to high-need school districts. In recognition of extraordinary increases in fixed costs, including pension contributions, the Executive Budget provides $203 million in one-time financial relief to school districts for the 2013-14 school year. The Executive Budget also includes $75 million in competitive grant initiatives that address recommendations of the New NY Education Commission. As a result, the total increase in aid to education is $889 million, or 4.4 percent, from 2012-13.
  
• Two-Year Appropriation for School Aid: The Executive Budget reaffirms the State’s commitment to increase funding for school districts in the future by including an appropriation that covers School Aid payable in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years with an increase based on growth in New York State personal income.
• State of the State Initiatives: In April 2012, the Governor appointed the New NY Education Reform Commission to investigate ways to improve the performance outcomes and operational efficiency of the State's schools. The Commission has presented a Preliminary Report to the Governor. Selected initiatives were incorporated into the State of the State and the Executive Budget includes $75 million in support for these initiatives.
  
• Preschool Special Education: New York State’s investment in preschool special education has doubled over the past ten years to a projected State cost of $1.1 billion for the upcoming school year. Recent provider audits have uncovered high levels of inappropriate billing by several preschool special education providers. The Executive Budget includes several initiatives which will control program expense growth by improving the State's and counties' ability to provide programmatic and fiscal oversight in the program.

For more information on this agency's budget recommendations located in the Executive Budget Briefing Book, click on the following link:

Briefing Book – Education and Arts (PDF)

Note: Most recent estimates as of 01/22/2013

Click for additional detailed appropriation tables