Letter to Commissioner Rosa: please require DOE to produce & implement a real class size plan now!

July 22, 2024

This morning, Class Size Matters sent the following letter to Commissioner Betty Rosa, urging her to require that NYC revise and fundamentally improve their submission to the state, and create and implement a real, multi-year class size reduction plan in compliance with the law. The letter is below and posted here; our press release is here.  Articles about the letter were published in Politico and the Daily News.

Earlier in June, we sent a petition to DOE with many of the same points, signed by 570 parents, educators, and advocates urging them to revise their draft class size plan.  It obviously had no effect, so now we turn to the state to force them to do so. DOE’s refusal to invest in sufficient staffing and space, and to outline what strategies so far will be used to lower class sizes to appropriate levels makes it a uncertain as to whether 40% of classes will be able to meet the caps as required next school year, and extremely unlikely that schools will be able to meet the goals of 60-100% in years three to five.

The Education Law Center also wrote an excellent letter to the Commissioner, expressing their concern with recent statements by the Chancellor in opposition to lowering class size, and asking her to require DOE submit a more detailed better plan.