Timeline on NYC failure to reduce class size in compliance with the C4E law

The NYC Department of Education has refused to complied with the Contracts for Excellence (C4E) law requiring that they create smaller classes in all grades in our public schools. Instead class sizes are considerably larger now than when the law was passed in 2007. As of the fall 2016, classes in Kindergarten through third grade were more than 18 percent larger, classes in grades four through eight were six percent larger, and high school classes were 1.5 percent larger than in 2007.

There has also been a sharp increase in very large classes of 30 or more.  In  2007, a little over 1,100 students in grades one through three were in classes of 30 students or more.  As of November 2016, a staggering 43,219 first through third graders were in classes this large, an increase of almost 4000 percent.   For more data on the trend in class sizes, click here.

See below for a detailed timeline of the NYC’ s documented refusal to reduce class size, starting with the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit in which class size was a central issue in the case,  or click here for the pdf.