UPDATED! Class size planning for 2026-2027 school year has begun!
UPDATED: Nov. 18, 2025. Here is the DOE FAQ on the planning/application process.
UPDATED: Nov. 10, 2025
A source has now provided us with the DOE slides that are otherwise inaccessible to parents, outlining the survey that principals are supposed to fill out by December 3 that will serve as their application for class size funds for next year, as well as detailed instructions on how to fill it out.
Next year, 80% of all classes are supposed to achieve the caps in the law though at this point that looks unlikely unless our new Mayor pushes DOE to improve the planning process. Hundreds of schools do not have the space at their current enrollment, and DOE is still refusing to allow overcrowded schools to even ask for lower enrollments. We also have posted the single slide that principals were supposed to show their School Leadership Teams.
Despite all the secrecy, DOE has told principals that their SLTs are supposed to be fully consulted in how to respond to this survey and their plans for class size reduction, in a process that was supposed to have begun on October 29 and completed by December 3. In addition, DOE has created a special dashboard for schools to access data on their current class size compliance, enrollment, and available space at https://tinyurl.com/FY27-CS-Dashboard (NYCPS Log In Required).
SLT members should be provided access to this data as well to be able to discuss how the survey and application process should be completed. As you can see from the image at left, principals are also supposed to verify that they have worked with their SLT in completing the survey.
Also here is a training video given to principals on Nov. 3. Among the DOE officials participating were Erin Gehant, Senior Advisor, Office of First Deputy Chancellor; Maite Villanueva, Managing Director, Division of School Leadership; and Isabel DiMola, Acting First Deputy Chancellor; and Krystal Cohen, Office of Research and Evaluation.
One section of the survey asks whether the school has space for an addition, extension or annex, though given the underfunding of the capital plan and the slow rate of school contruction, this will likely be a solution for only a small subset of schools to achieve the caps in the law within the required timeframe, even if they have room for an expansion.
If you are a parent or teacher member of your SLT and have been denied the opportunity to collaborate with your principal on planning for class size reduction and applying for these funds, let us know by emailing info@classsizematters.org.
Also, if you teach at a school or your child attends one that will not be able to meet the caps at their current enrollment and would like to discuss how to better advocate for your school and/or explore legal options, please contact us at the above address as well. Thanks!
___
Nov.3, 2025
Last Wednesday the Chancellor sent an email to all principals, asking them to respond to a survey by Dec. 3, about whether their classes are in compliance with the class size caps in the law, and if not, what other resources they will need to lower class size to the mandated levels next year, when 80% of classes systemwide are supposed to be in compliance. UFT President Michael Mulgrew sent a similar email to all school chapter leaders the same day. Both emails are linked to below, and there is also information here, though a NYCPS log-in is required for access to the survey and training.
Principals were also asked to participate in a training session today, Nov. 3, from 3 PM – 4 PM, related to the survey and their planning effort going forward.
Both emails also say principals and UFT chapter chairs are supposed to work with their School Leadership Teams on this issue, and yet I have heard from parents and SLT members who had not been alerted yet to this survey or training session.
The email from the Chancellor to principals says that “We know many of you [principals] have inquired about, and believe you should qualify for, an exemption” from having to comply with the class size caps law.
If you do not want your principals to ask for an exemption for your school from having to lower class size and instead would ask for more space by either lowering the number of students in entering classes or shifting some 3K and PreK classes to nearby CBOs, you should make that clear to them and your SLTs. You should also make clear if there is space for an annex and would like them to help you advocate for one to be built.
If so, you should consider collecting signatures on petitions, show up at your monthly SLT meeting as individuals or as a group, or do whatever you can to urge your principal to press the DOE to enable them to lower class size. We have an organizing toolkit here, with these and additional suggestions of how to advocate on issues that you care about.
If a group of parents, teachers and/or the members of your SLT agree with this, but not yet your principal, you can also file a complaint with your superintendent, the Chancellor and/or the State Education Department. There is a specific form and process for this under the Contracts for Education Law, and we will help any group that would like to pursue this option, but only after they’ve gained support from other parents and/or teachers at their school.
- In related news, we recently learned that the former DOE Deputy Chancellor, Dan Weisberg, who resigned in August, received a conflict of interest waiver in September from the Chancellor to continue being paid as a consultant to advise her on class size and other key issues. By many accounts, Weisberg was the foremost obstructionist within the DOE to creating an actual multi-year plan to enable even overcrowded schools to lower class size. At the same time, we have no idea whether Weisberg may be working concurrently for other organizations or individuals with interests counter to the critical goal of providing smaller classes to more NYC public school students.
Please feel free to follow up if you have any questions. The email messages from the Chancellor and Mulgrew are below.
Thanks Leonie
“
Social Networks:
