"The Department's Regionalization Initiative is not a state mandate to merge programs or districts. Rather, it’s a call for collaborative conversations about innovative ideas to enhance educational opportunities for all students. While proposing these ideas is the responsibility of districts, not NYSED, some examples of the innovative proposals that we have heard about are increased access to in-district Career and Tech Education or CTE, advanced course offerings, and student support services. NYSED firmly believes that local solutions are key to addressing local challenges, which is why we’re encouraging districts to learn from one another and build on successful practices. Given the scope of what the initiative is actually aimed at accomplishing, any attempt to circumvent innovation with misinformation will ultimately only negatively impact the children of New York, and they deserve better."