Welcome to LHEC
Established in 1976, the LHEC is a joint project of the Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents, Dutchess County School Boards Association, Rockland County School Boards Association and Westchester Putnam School Boards Association.  In 2024 the organization expanded to include Orange County. Our mission is to serve as a regional leadership hub in ​public education advocacy.
 ADVOCACY PRIORITIES 

Legislative Advocacy

Board of Regents / NYSED Advocacy
The LHEC is advocating for:
  • Student Mental Health & School Safety - This is a critical need for all schools, requiring equitable access to address the increased needs of all students.
  • School Safety - Security of school buildings continues to be a key issue with a need for flexible resources for staffing, security upgrades and training.
  • Pre-Kindergarten Growth and Success - To ensure all preschool-age children have access to a high-quality, affordable pre-K program, adequate state funding is critical. A single annual aid stream comparable to the NYC per pupil rate with flexibility in the use of these funds would allow LHEC districts to use the money allocated by NYS.
  • Foundation Aid Formula & Regional Cost Index (RCI) - Updated data inputs and adjustments to the current formula would ensure adequate and representative state aid to local school districts.  Additionally, the Lower Hudson Valley should have a regional cost index that better reflects the cost of operating in the NYC suburbs.
  • Tax Cap Revisions - It is essential that the Executive and the Legislature consider adjustments to the formula to reduce unintended consequences and to provide promised meaningful mandate relief.  
  • Climate Resiliency - Aging buildings need improvements for energy efficiency. Additionally, due to the significantly higher cost of electric buses and the operational difficulties of transforming school bus fleets in the coming years, NYS needs to provide assistance to school districts to help manage the transition to more environmentally friendly school buses.
  • Special Act Public School Districts (SASD) - Measures are needed to ensure the fiscal and programmatic stability of Special Act public school districts.
  • Certifying Substantial Equivalency - Many local school districts do not have the resources to effectively evaluate and monitor the substantial equivalency of instruction in their local private and parochial schools.
  • Mandate Relief & Transparency - A thorough review of existing mandates and increased transparency prior to the enactment of new mandates would assist school districts in managing the significant cost burdens of compliance.
  • Employee Retention and Recruitment - NYS amendments to civil service procedures should look at how the process affects employee recruitment and retention for school districts.
The LHEC is advocating for:
  • Options for Graduation - The current review of graduation requirements in NYS should focus on ensuring multiple pathways to graduation that maintain the high standards that a Regents diploma has been known for.
  • Flexibility in Teacher Hiring - As teacher retirements have increased due to the pandemic, school districts have had difficulty hiring a qualified, diverse teaching force, especially with certification in certain subject areas.
  • Reduce Burden of APPR - Local administrators are capable of assessing teaching quality in the classroom.​