Agudath Israel of America applauds several positive priorities for our community outlined by Governor Kathy Hochul today at her 2026 State of the State address.
The governor’s proposal to significantly expand childcare to include statewide Universal Pre-K, grow 3-K (childcare for 3-year-olds) support, and offer free childcare for 2-year-olds in conjunction with New York City, will be most helpful to our growing families.
Agudath Israel has long advocated for programs to assist parents with childcare and notes Governor Hochul and the legislature’s landmark boost to the Empire State child tax credit last year, a priority for Agudah and its constituents.
The Agudah also thanks Governor Hochul for supporting legislation introduced by Senator Sam Sutton and Assemblymember Micah Lasher to protect houses of worship from the type of protests and intimidation that has, sadly, been occurring around our shuls. The proposal would make it a crime to intimidate or interfere with someone seeking to enter a house of worship, and would introduce a buffer zone within which two or more individuals may not protest. Our shuls cannot be allowed to devolve into political flashpoints for opportunistic antisemites.
The Agudah will be advocating for the fruition of these and many other priorities as the legislative session begins, including protecting the rights of parents with special needs in nonpublic schools; enhancing security for our schools; ensuring our yeshivas are fully reimbursed for mandated services; and other measures to protect our constituents and combat antisemitism.
Agudath Israel looks forward to working with both the governor and the legislature to enact these legislative priorities.