2026 New York Legislative Session: Wins for NYSUT Members

• NYSTRS / NYCTRS: Tier 6 members can now retire at age 58 with at least 30 years of service — a full five years earlier than the previous requirement of age 63, and without early retirement penalties. This change takes effect immediately.
• NYSERS / NYCERS / NYCBERS: The five existing employee contribution bands were compressed into four, lowering rates for many workers. Members earning up to $75,000 will contribute 3%; those earning $75,000–$100,000 will contribute 4%; $100,000–$125,000 will contribute 5.25%; and $125,000 or more will contribute 5.75%. Previously, workers earning between $55,000 and $75,000 paid 4.5%, and those earning $75,000–$100,000 paid 5.75%. These changes take effect October 1, 2026.
• SUNY and CUNY Optional Retirement Program (ORP): Contribution bands will be adjusted to align with the changes above, and ORP members will receive an additional 1% state contribution to their accounts. Effective October 1, 2026.
• Overtime in Pension Calculations: For Tier 5 and Tier 6 members across all affected systems, the overtime ceiling used in final average salary calculations increases from $22,500 to $30,000, with 3% annual increases going forward. For State Police & Fire Tier 6 members, the share of overtime counted toward final average salary rises from 15% to 25% of salary. Both changes take effect January 1, 2027.

The budget preserves the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) reimbursement for Medicare Part B for all active and retired employees enrolled in NYSHIP (the New York State Health Insurance Program), as well as their dependents. Without this protection, many retired educators would face significant out-of-pocket cost increases. NYSUT worked hard to ensure this benefit was maintained.

Key changes to the formula this year:

• A 2% minimum increase is guaranteed for every school district in the state — ensuring no district is left behind regardless of enrollment trends.
• The English Language Learner (ELL) weighting increases from 0.53 to 0.6, directing more aid to districts serving students learning English.
• A new 0.12 weighting is added for students who are homeless or in foster care, acknowledging that these students require additional support.

UPK funding increases by $432 million — a 40-percent jump — making this one of the largest single-year investments in early childhood education in state history. Districts will receive a minimum of $10,000 per student, doubling aid per student for many districts. All districts will be required to offer full-day pre-K to every eligible four-year-old whose family requests placement by the 2028–29 school year.

The budget includes $21.4 million for Teacher Centers statewide — institutions that provide educator-led professional development and are closely tied to the union movement. An additional $368,000 is included for the National Board Certification program, which supports teachers seeking the profession's highest credential.

The budget includes $1.125 million for NYSUT's Many Threads, One Fabric initiative, which supports culturally responsive and sustaining education in classrooms across New York. The program reflects NYSUT's commitment to honoring the diversity of students and communities in public schools.

The budget establishes a statewide expectation for evidence-based math instruction in grades K–5, with an annual curriculum review aligned to State Education Department standards. This policy shift prioritizes instructional approaches grounded in research. The budget includes $2 million for NYSUT's Education and Learning Trust to support union-led professional learning.

The budget extends the electric school bus implementation deadline by five years. The deadline for newly purchased or leased buses moves from July 1, 2027, to July 1, 2032. The deadline for all school buses operating in the state to be zero-emission moves from July 1, 2035, to July 1, 2040. This extension gives districts — especially those in rural areas with infrastructure gaps — additional time to plan responsibly.

Looking towards a more sustainable future, many school districts are choosing to invest in solar and other renewable energy systems. This budget adjusts how building aid is applied so school districts have greater flexibility to install the most effective renewable energy systems, including ground-mounted solar projects on fields or over parking lots, where appropriate. This change will make it easier for schools to reduce energy costs, cut emissions, and invest in cleaner infrastructure.

The budget provides significant new operating investments across New York's public higher education systems.

• Operating aid to SUNY increases by $49.3 million.
• Operating aid to CUNY increases by $69 million.
• SUNY community colleges receive an $11.5 million increase in base aid.
• CUNY community colleges receive $7.3 million increase in base aid.

These investments support the faculty and staff who make these institutions run.

The SUNY and CUNY Reconnect program is significantly expanded in this budget. The program covers students aged 25 to 55 who are enrolled at a New York state two-year or four-year public institution of higher education in an approved program leading to an associate degree in a high-demand field. New eligible fields include air traffic control, logistics, transportation, and emergency management. Students who already hold a post-secondary degree are also now eligible, provided they enroll in an approved program leading to an associate degree in nursing. Funding for the expanded program totals $63.8 million.

Building on NYSUT's successful push for school cellphone restrictions, the budget incorporates key elements of the Stop Online Predators Act (SOPA), establishing default safety settings for minors on online platforms. Accounts for users under 18 are set to private by default. Strangers cannot message, view posts of, or tag minors in content without approval. Location display is disabled by default. Integrated AI chatbots and companions are disabled for child users. Parents gain new controls, including the ability to set spending limits and view transaction histories.

The budget bans convertible pistols and prohibits the sale or distribution of 3-D printing code for firearms, closing a loophole that allowed untraceable "ghost guns" to be manufactured with readily available technology. It also establishes a working group to develop regulations for 3-D printers with firearm-blocking technology.

The budget includes several critical immigration provisions that directly protect school communities. Schools, daycares, hospitals, and houses of worship are now codified in law as sensitive locations protected from civil immigration enforcement, unless a federal agent presents a judicial warrant. State and local facilities must deny entry to non-public areas without a warrant; private institutions are empowered to adopt the same restriction.

The right of every child to a public education, regardless of immigration status, is guaranteed in state law, and schools are restricted from requesting or sharing information about students' or families' immigration status.

The New York State Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit is expanded to address the rising cost of childcare. The credit, which covers expenses for children under 13 and disabled dependents, is restructured to scale with family size.

Qualifying expenses include babysitters and nannies, before- and after-school care, preschool, summer day camps, and adult day care for disabled dependents. This is meaningful relief for NYSUT members and the families of the students they serve.

Advocacy for the expanded Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit has been included in NYSUT's 1 in 5 initiative, which has highlighted the unacceptable reality that one in five New York children lives in poverty. The restructured credit reflects NYSUT's sustained push for state policy that lifts children out of poverty and supports working families.

The budget establishes a new temporary tax on second homes in New York City. This measure targets high-end properties held by wealthy out-of-state or international owners who do not use them as their primary home, generating revenue that supports public services for working families in New York. NYSUT has long supported progressive revenue measures — taxing the ultra-wealthy — as an alternative to cuts in school aid and public services.

As book banning efforts have accelerated across the country, NYSUT has fought to protect school libraries and the expertise of trained educators who run them. This legislation requires every school board to adopt and publicly post a written policy governing challenges to library materials. The policy must include procedures for submitting complaints, a review timeline, and a reconsideration committee that must include a librarian, a teacher, an administrator, a parent, and a currently enrolled student. The bill establishes a fair, transparent process that protects librarians and teachers from politically motivated pressure while ensuring community voices have an appropriate forum.

As part of NYSUT’s BOCES facilities modernization agenda, this legislation extends to public entities the same 20-year lease authority BOCES already have with private ones. This added flexibility will make it easier for BOCES to secure suitable space for programs that serve students and educators across their regions.

This bill extends the period for school districts to recover energy performance contract costs from energy savings from 18 years to 25 years, bringing state law in line with federal standards. The longer repayment window makes it financially viable for more districts to undertake solar and other clean energy projects, expanding access to cost-saving infrastructure improvements that benefit students, staff, and communities for decades.

Building on NYSUT’s sustained advocacy around technology and student safety, this legislation bans operators of AI-powered chatbots from offering products to minors when those products include unsafe features. The bill prohibits features that foster unhealthy emotional attachment or dependency, restricts outputs that could endanger minors, and bans content promoting sexually explicit behavior or other harmful actions. As AI tools become more present in students’ lives both inside and outside the classroom, this legislation ensures that safety — not engagement metrics — comes first.

Opioid overdose is a public health emergency, and schools are not immune from its reach. This legislation requires schools, BOCES, charter schools, non-public schools, and public libraries to maintain opioid antagonists such as naloxone (Narcan) on-site. The New York State Department of Health will provide the medication at no cost upon request. While schools have been able to opt into existing state programming, participation has been uneven. This bill closes that gap and gives school staff the tools to respond to a life-threatening emergency.

Anti-union groups like the Freedom Foundation have used deceptive tactics — including impersonating unions and union representatives — to mislead members and undermine solidarity. This legislation makes it a violation to falsely impersonate an employee organization or representative with intent to deceive, and empowers the Attorney General to take action against such conduct. It is a direct tool for NYSUT and its locals to fight back against bad-faith efforts to divide our membership.

No worker should have to choose between recovering from an on-the-job injury and keeping the lights on at home. This legislation amends civil service law to allow public employees who suffer a work-related injury to use accrued paid time off while awaiting workers’ compensation benefits. Language within the bill will allow employees covered by collective bargaining agreements to opt into this new provision or to keep any existing benefits they have already bargained for. While the bill applies to all public employees, it will have the greatest practical impact on SRPs who need to weather a gap in pay.