The state Board of Regents wants to see more collaboration among local school districts.

And, the state Education Department thinks the work should begin now by using a Notice of Emergency Adoption in addition to its typical proposed administrative rule making.

The proposed amendment creates a new section of state Education Commissioner’s recommendations regarding BOCES and a separate subsection for regionalization plans. Each school district that is part of a BOCES district will work with the BOCES superintendent to develop and implement a regionalization plan at least every 10 years. Plans have to include initiatives to increase learning opportunities and operational efficiency for local school districts.

School districts have to have a list of strengths and weaknesses submitted to the state Education Department by Nov. 1. Once those documents are in, the BOCES superintendent will begin meeting with school districts and stakeholders. A progress report is due to the state Education Department by April 1 while the full regionalization plan is due by Oct. 1. State officials expect changes identified in the regionalization plan to begin taking place no later than the 2026-27 school year. Plans will be updated every 10 years.

It’s been no secret that many smaller school districts struggle to provide elective courses to students. The issue has come up often when area school districts have discussed possible mergers, though the only mergers successful in recent years have been the merger of Chautauqua and Mayville central schools and Cattaraugus and Little Valley central schools. Ripley, one of the smallest districts in the state, tuitions its high school students to Chautauqua Lake Central School, an arrangement that allows both schools to offer more elective courses to students.

State Education Department officials say budget limitations make it difficult for schools to keep or expand course offerings. Among the reasons cited in the memorandum discussed by the Regents this week was Gov. Kathy Hochul’s flirtation with removing the same harmless provisions in the Foundation Aid state aid formula that the Board of Regents says underscores financial uncertainty for many districts.

Lastly, state officials say more regionalization is needed as the state Education Department develops recommendations for the Board of Regents regarding new statewide graduation measures.

“Regionalization can help solve these challenges, creating equitable educational opportunities through partnerships among school districts, Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and other stakeholders,” states a memo to the Regents by Jeffrey Matteson, state Education Department senior deputy commissioner for education policy. “This model focuses on shared or “pooled” resources, such as utilizing shared staff, extracurricular programs, and support services to provide students with broader educational opportunities. It also encourages partnerships with regional businesses and other school districts to enhance curriculum and student experiences, which will help meet the demands of new graduation measures.”

The measure was approved with no discussion in publicly available video from either of the Board of Regents’ two open sessions this week.