How close is New York City to meeting its legal obligation to reduce the number of students in every public school classroom? The answer is: Nothing is very clear yet!
Precisely in this scenario, the Education Commission of the City Council presented this Thursday a draft bill that would require the Department of Education (DOE) to report the actual size of all school classes.
This initiative would also require the DOE to share accurate data from each school district and county on the number and percentage of students in special programs, disaggregated by program type, grade level, race or ethnicity, gender, and English proficiency status.
City Council Leader Rita Joseph presented the legislation at a hearing where she collected testimonies from DOE spokespersons, teachers, parents, and educational quality organizations and advocates.
“What we are fighting for is not negotiable. Access to quality education must be equal. And a very clear measure to achieve this is that we can evaluate exactly what is happening in our classrooms right now,” Joseph noted.
For the Brooklyn councilor at this stage, where the way is being paved for the municipal authorities to comply with the reduction in the number of students, for each classroom, the participation of the community of parents and representatives as guarantors of that the process is carried out in a balanced way.
In 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law that requires the DOE to minimize the number of children and adolescents in schools within five years, that is, in 2028.
Under previous rules, classes were generally capped at 30 to 34 students, depending on grade, with 25 students in kindergarten.
Under the new law, classes cannot exceed 20 students in kindergarten through third grade, 23 students in grades 4 through 8, and 25 students in high school. Special activities such as physical education, sports activities and artistic events are limited to 40 children.
“We are waiting for resources”
The conclusion of the municipal authorities who participated in the testimony agenda is that for schools to comply with this state law that will come into full effect in 2028, thousands of new teachers will be needed, at an annual cost of $1.3 billion to $2 billion.
This means at least 4% of the operating budget of the entire department, when contrasted with the current budget.
The other obstacle to be resolved is that “overcrowded” schools that need more space to expand areas and create more classrooms, the municipal construction agency estimates that the costs could amount to tens of billions of dollars that will require more state aid. and federal.