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  • Advisory: New laws impact school district elections

    Governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed two pieces of legislation intended to ease New York state residents’ ability to exercise their right to vote in school district elections. What you need to know about the simplified ballot application The state amended Election Law in 2010 to simplify the absentee ballot application for registered voters, but it…

  • Notify parents of data security and privacy protections

    Required communications under Ed Law 2D.

  • Help parents determine if their child is ready for school

    For many districts, prekindergarten and kindergarten registration time is right around the corner. However, parents and guardians in your district may be unsure of whether their child is actually ready to attend school. To help them assess if their child has met—or is on their way to meeting—the developmental milestones that will help ease the…

  • Advisory: School districts in NYS required to teach child sexual abuse prevention classes to K-8 students

    On August 29, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation known as Erin’s Law, which will require New York state public schools to teach child sexual abuse and exploitation prevention classes to students in grades K-8. This legislation mandates these prevention classes to include age-appropriate instruction that helps students recognize what sexual abuse might look like…

  • Advisory: Clarification on distribution of concussion-related materials

    Earlier this fall, the School Communications Portfolio released an advisory for districts regarding new legislation that requires schools offering tackle football programs to provide specific concussion materials to parents/guardians of participating students. There has been some confusion as to how exactly districts need to distribute the materials, which are available on the New York State Department of Health…

  • Advisory: New law requires schools offering tackle football programs to provide specific concussion information

    State legislation requires school districts to make concussion-related materials available for parents and guardians. Learn about what and how to communicate this information.

  • 2-1-1: Getting help to where it’s needed

    While school staff can work with students to address academic and behavioral issues, other challenges (such as hunger or homelessness) are often outside the scope of services a school can provide. These issues, which can directly affect student performance, behavior and attendance, are present in all communities at varying levels. By dialing 2-1-1, school professionals…

  • Advisory: Employers in NYS required to establish a sexual harassment prevention policy, provide prevention training

    The 2019 New York state budget included new requirements for employers related to preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. What are all employers — including school districts — required to do? Under the new law, every employer in New York state was required to: Employers are encouraged to provide the sexual harassment policy and training…

  • Help teachers enhance communication with parents/guardians

    Research has shown that frequent, customized communication from teachers to parents/guardians has the potential to boost student achievement, improve attendance and decrease dropout rates. However, opening and maintaining the lines of communication can be a challenge for some educators. To help bridge this gap, the Capital Region BOCES School Communications Portfolio is re-releasing its Teacher/Parent…

  • Communicating about a student/staff death by suicide

    September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and a good time to make sure your school district is aware of the importance of having a plan in place to communicate both internally and externally in the event that a student or staff member dies by suicide.   Any death involving a student or staff member is…

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