Superintendent Dr. Kurtis Kotes Advocates for Public Education at Legislative Conference in Washington

Jul 10, 2026 | District

Dr. Kurtis Kotes in front of US Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kurtis Kotes traveled to Washington, D.C. this week with other superintendents from the New York State Council of School Superintendents (NYSCOSS), to advocate for all students, staff, and public education on Capitol Hill at the 2026 AASA – The School Superintendents Association Legislative Advocacy Conference.

Dr. Kotes, who serves as co-chair of the NYSCOSS State Legislative Committee, attended informative sessions and met with federal legislators who represent the East Greenbush Central School District.

“Thanks to Congressmen Riley and Lawler, and Senator Schumer and their staff for their time and unwavering support of our schools,” Dr. Kotes said. “I am grateful to The School Superintendents Association for this opportunity and their continued advocacy! AASA serves as an important partner to schools around the country in ensuring that schools can work to secure resources that they need to best serve families and students. This was a great opportunity to hear of the potential impact of federal changes on our district and to collaborate with other leaders from throughout the country.”

Among the topics discussed at the conference were:

IDEA Funding

  • Request to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
  • When Congress passed IDEA 51 years ago, it committed to funding 40% of the additional cost of educating students with special needs, a commitment they’ve never come close to honoring. The federal share currently hovers around 10%.
  • Both the House and Senate have introduced the IDEA Full Funding Act, which would put Congress on a 10-year path to honor its commitment.

E-Rate

  • Opposition to the FCC’s proposal to end E-Rate and limit access to the program based on community type.
  • Schools depend on E-Rate to provide for school connectivity such as wifi and network operations, cybersecurity, communications, and critical infrastructure.
  • Over the past five years, the East Greenbush CSD has utilized approximately $746,220 in E-rate reimbursement to replace and update critical network infrastructure components throughout the district.

Federal Education Funding

  • Opposition to the House’s FY27 Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education funding proposal which would cut more than $5 billion from K-12 education. As districts are grappling with rising health insurance, transportation, and food costs and constrained budgets, additional federal investment is essential to sustain core programs and supports for students.
  • Support for the Senate’s bipartisan funding proposal last year that protected education funding and hopes to see a similar proposal for this coming year.

Student Data and Privacy

  • Support for COPPA 2.0, the Senate’s bipartisan update to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which governs how online companies collect and use data from children under 13.
  • COPPA 2.0 would extend those protections to teens up to 16.

Artificial Intelligence

  • Opposition to a moratorium on state AI laws.
  • Some policymakers want a federal freeze barring states from enforcing or passing their own AI rules. AI is evolving fast and working its way into every part of school and student life. A blanket ban would strip away the room states need to shape meaningful guardrails for how AI is used, integrated and adopted.

Screen Time and Educational Technology in the Classroom

  • Opposition to any federal bans on instructional technology in schools. Screen time and device decisions are best determined at the local and state level.
  • School technology should always be chosen deliberately, supervised, and tied to instruction.
  • The East Greenbush CSD has a process for selecting and implementing educational technology and guidelines for use of chromebooks and other devices in the classroom.