One of the main complaints that parents, teachers and advocacy organizations for New York students have raised against the City’s educational system for years is the high number of children in a good part of the classrooms of the more than 1,700 schools that They exist in the Big Apple. And although a state law last year ordered the Municipal Administration to promote urgent actions to reduce class sizes, more than 300,000 students at high-need campuses remain in overcrowded classes.
That was the complaint made by the New York Teachers Union, UFT, after questioning Mayor Adams’ Administration, which points out that schools with great needs already comply with the student limits ordered by law.
“In nearly 700 ‘Title 1’ schools – a measure the federal government uses to identify high levels of poverty – 50 percent or more of classes are larger than allowed by the new state law,” the president warned. of the United Federation of Teachers UFT, Michael Mulgrew.
The teacher added that in 665 Title 1 schools, at least 50 percent of classes exceed the limits of state law this school year, meaning that about 322,111 students are currently in larger classes than established. Even in 40 schools, each class exceeds the size limit given by the new state law and 97% of the Big Apple’s 1,267 Title 1 schools have at least one oversized classroom.
“Claiming that these schools do not have overcrowding issues is just one example of how the City is working to undermine the new class size mandate. “Rather than using delaying tactics or manufacturing a fiscal crisis when it has record levels of financial reserves, the City Department of Education needs to craft a coherent plan to address the long-term inequity of overcrowded classrooms,” the teacher leader said. .
Leonie Haimson, executive director of the organization Class Size Matters, which has been advocating for years for New York students to study in classrooms with fewer children, said that the average class size increased considerably this year at all grade levels, and for primary and secondary schools, it was the second consecutive year
“It has been 536 days since the Legislature passed the class size law and 438 days since it was signed into law by Governor Hochul, who also gave the DOE (Department of Education) an extra year to comply. Given the current trend in class sizes and the city’s proposed cuts to school funding and the capital plan, the DOE will not be able to meet the limits set by law unless parents, educators, advocates and policymakers the city and the state work together to force The mayor and the chancellor must act and act now,” the expert said.
Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari, interim co-executive director of the Alliance for Quality Education, expressed herself in the same way, because despite the fact that in 2022 the Legislature approved the law to reduce class sizes to 20 in the early grades, 23 in grades four through eight and 25 in high school, stating that priority would be given to schools serving populations with higher levels of poverty, the order has not been followed.
“Many more than 300,000 students in high-need New York City schools are trapped in overcrowded classrooms, directly undermining their learning opportunities,” Shaakir-Ansari said. “This overcrowding disproportionately affects Black, Latino, low-income, and immigrant students, denying them equitable access to quality education. “New York City must follow the law even if a small group of people don’t like it.”
Notably, the state Legislature included additional funding of $1.6 billion to help achieve the goals.
However, the Department of Education insists that they have complied with the reduction of classes and deny that those classrooms that remain above the required limit are in vulnerable communities.
“Our recently released class size report shows that we are in full compliance for this school year with the new state class size mandates; However, we continue to ask our partners in the state and federal government to support us with additional funding to maintain compliance for years to come. years,” said Nicole Brownstein, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education. “It is very clear and has been demonstrated by multiple independent analyzes that the districts with the greatest number of classes over the cap are in the most affluent communities in the city, which takes resources away from the schools with the greatest needs.”
According to the DOE, New York City Public Schools are in compliance with the class size law, which requires 20% of classes to be below the new mandatory limits this year, and they advocate, Not only are 40% of classes below the maximum limit but in school districts like 23, 73% of classes are below the recently established limits.
Additionally, the DOE states that 62% of classes in the quarter of highest-need schools are below the maximum limits, compared to 25% of classes in the quarter of lowest-need schools, and while they acknowledge that There are some schools that serve primarily low-income students that will need additional funding to comply with the law, they insist they have generally done a good job of reducing needy classrooms.
Data
- 665 ‘Title 1’ schools have 50 percent or more larger classes than allowed
- 322,111 students are currently in larger than established classes
- 97% of the Big Apple’s 1,267 Title 1 schools have at least one large classroom
- 20 children in the first grades is the established number
- 23 students in grades four through eight
- 25 in high school
- An additional $1.6 billion was designated to help reduce classes