About Delegates

For more than a century, NYSTRS delegates have served as valuable ambassadors between NYSTRS and our members.

As representatives of their districts, delegates have two main functions:

1. Attend the two-day Annual Delegates Meeting held in the fall at which they elect a teacher member to NYSTRS’ Board.
2. Serve as a liaison between NYSTRS and the members in their district. In this role, delegates often answer retirement-related and general System questions for their colleagues. Topics include where to get NYSTRS information, differences between tiers of membership and how to plan for retirement.

Delegates and their alternates, who are elected as a single ticket, serve two-year terms and are elected during either a regular election (held in years with odd numbers) or a special election (held in years with even numbers). The number of delegates each employer is entitled to is based on the number of active NYSTRS members contractually employed by the employer. To be eligible to serve, delegates and alternates must be members of NYSTRS and in-service, full-time (e.g., per-annum) employees.

Alternates serve as backups to their corresponding delegates. The alternate may attend the Annual Meeting, but may only vote for a teacher Board member if the employer notifies NYSTRS prior to the meeting that the delegate will not attend and makes the required attendance change in the Employer Secure Area. Should the delegate vacate their position for any reason, the alternate would automatically assume the delegate position and the alternate position would remain vacant until the next regular election. (Note: Delegates and alternates are elected as a ticket and cannot be split.)

Current Delegates and Alternates

To see current delegate and alternate representation by employer, refer to Delegates: 2023-2025 Term.

Interested in Serving as a Delegate?

If this role interests you, review our Delegate & Election FAQs page to learn more about when elections are held and how the process works. Then talk to your chief school administrator to be sure an election is held during the next election cycle. It is the school’s responsibility to report election results to NYSTRS so we suggest you confirm they reported the results to us. Although NYSTRS emails district administration about the election, you can also help by directing them to the Employers/Delegate Election & Annual Meeting page for information.

We’re Here to Help Our Delegates!

We value the important role delegates play for the System and our members. To best assist delegates, we are committed to keeping them informed so they have the latest news and resources at their fingertips.

Each month we send delegates a “NYSTRS News” email containing recent news and helpful information. We ask delegates to share the email with their NYSTRS-member colleagues so they are also informed.

Additionally, we send periodic Delegate News emails, which are notices of administrative-related topics of note to delegates and their employers (employers receive the companion Administrative Bulletin).

Have questions about serving as a delegate? Email us at [email protected].