📘 JSA2026 FY2026 Commonwealth Budget – Volume IV: Education & Medicaid Reform

Prepared by the Office of Jason S. Arnold – 2026 Gubernatorial Candidate, State of New York
This volume presents the foundation of JSA2026’s people-first, performance-based reform of New York’s two largest and most broken systems: education and Medicaid. These pillars define the success or failure of every generation — and under JSA2026, we will fix them with accountability, local empowerment, and common-sense control.

🎓 Education Reform Strategy

🔹 1. Establish SEZ/LEZ (School Empowerment Zones & Local Education Zones)

• Local districts may opt into SEZ or LEZ status to gain partial or full control of curriculum, hiring, and budget
• State-mandated programs waived in SEZs that meet minimum performance thresholds
• SEZs receive budget-flexibility incentives but must publish quarterly performance data

🔹 2. Freeze Aid Growth in Declining Enrollment Districts

• No automatic year-over-year increases for school districts with shrinking populations
• Reallocate surplus aid to underperforming but growing LEZ/SEZ schools

🔹 3. Refocus State Education Spending on Basics First

• Minimum % of school aid must be allocated to core instruction (reading, math, science, civic ed)
• Non-core spending (consultants, DEI initiatives, travel) capped unless tied to performance improvements

🔹 4. Launch Parent-Led Curriculum Oversight Panels

• Every district must create a publicly accountable parental review committee for new curriculum proposals
• State Board of Regents must post public notice of all curriculum policy changes 30 days before adoption

🔹 5. New Statewide Teacher Contract Transparency Standards

• All contracts must be posted publicly
• Bonuses must be tied to district-wide performance, not tenure or time-in-service alone

🏥 Medicaid Reform Strategy

🔹 1. Cap Annual Growth at 3%

• Set legislative growth ceiling tied to population and inflation
• Annual waiver available only if system-wide fraud recoveries exceed $250M

🔹 2. Realign Reimbursements with Outcome Benchmarks

• Hospitals and providers must meet annual performance benchmarks to receive full reimbursements
• Top-performing facilities receive priority for capital aid and expansion grants

🔹 3. Modernize the Medicaid Fraud Unit

• Invest $100M into digital audit and AI-based fraud detection tools
• Reassign existing investigators to high-risk zip codes and repeat offender networks

🔹 4. Expand Crisis Services, Not Executive Offices

• Redirect $600M from state administrative Medicaid budgets into detox beds, mobile mental health teams, and rural urgent care centers

🔹 5. Reform Long-Term Care and Nursing Home Oversight

• Implement quarterly safety audits and public ratings for all state-subsidized long-term care facilities
• Cap overhead spending for all private operators receiving state reimbursement

📊 Estimated Impact

• $1.2B saved annually through Medicaid reform and fraud controls
• $850M reallocated to classroom instruction and mental health frontline services
• Up to 150 districts eligible to opt into SEZ/LEZ in first year

🔚 Conclusion from Jason S. Arnold

Education and healthcare should lift people up — not trap them in bureaucracy. Volume IV of the Commonwealth Budget reclaims our greatest public systems for the people they were meant to serve. Under JSA2026, we put power back in the classroom, dignity back in healthcare, and results back at the center of our budget.

Volume V will complete the series with final legal frameworks, accountability models, and legislative implementation tools.

🗽 Jason S. Arnold, Candidate for Governor
📍 https://jsa2026.com
☎️ (516) 586-0660
✉️ jaysarnold@icloud.com