Feb. 12, 2023 Below see Class Size Matters’ testimony from last week’s State education budget hearings, which describe some of the many reasons we are extremely concerned that the DOE is not prepared to meet the class size limits in the new state law, especially in the out years, given repeated cuts to school budgets, […]
January 25, 2023 For my account of these hearings, and the disappointing testimony of Deputy Chancellor Weisberg, see the NYC Public School Parent blog here. You can also read Jenn Choi’s testimony at that link, about the hurdles students with disabilities face being admitted to schools that meet their needs and allow them to reach […]
January 12, 2023 Yesterday, we re-ran the numbers on the Galaxy cuts to schools for this year, and the total net cuts at this point compared to last year are now at $823 million. Fully 86% of schools have experienced cuts to their budgets totaling $893 million, averaging about $655,000 each. See the table below. […]
Nov. 18, 2022 Below a presentation I provided to CM Krishnan on the challenges faced by D 24 and D30 in meeting the class size caps in the new class size law
Updated 11/18/2022. See our press release about the new class size data, which has sparked concerns among electeds, parents, teachers that the DOE is not prepared to comply with the new state law, and urging the Chancellor to form a task force as soon as possible to help develop the class size reduction plan.
Here is the presentation I gave Oct. 31, 2022 for CM Rita Joseph, on the new class size law and need for enhanced Council oversight and a Task Force to consider changes in DOE policies and practices to make sure that the class size benchmakrs in the new state law can be met by DOE. […]
Below is the presentation I gave at the Real Deal on School Budgets forum, sponsored by Senator Robert Jackson on Oct. 25, 2022, with a special focus class size, school overcrowding and cuts to School district 6. If you’d like a similar briefing for your CEC or community group, with a focus on your schools, […]
On June 2, 2022 the Legislature overwhelming passed the class size bill, S9460/ A10498, by a vote of 59-4 in the Senate and 147-2 in the Assembly. The bill required that NYC implement a five-year class size reduction plan beginning in the fall of 2022. On Sept. 8, 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the bill […]
See our Myths vs. Facts sheet for more info. An updated FAQ from Sept. 2024 is here. Jan.15, 2024 FAQ on the NY Class Size Law On June 2, 2022, the NY State Legislature passed a bill to by a vote of 59-4 in the Senate and 147-2 in the Assembly that required NYC schools […]
Former principal Shane Safir has a piece in Education Week arguing against the over reliance on standardized test scores to judge schools. Instead she argues that “We need to shift our focus from so-called “achievement gaps” to opportunity gaps by collecting qualitative information that is close to the learner.” In 2017, when NY State was […]
Sign here to urge NYC to implement a real, multi-year strategy to lower class size, as the law intends, without exempting up to half or more of all students.
Talk out of School radio show and podcast airs Sunday night at 7 PM on WBAI 99.5 FM or online at www.wbai.org when Leonie Haimson and Daniel Alicea interview guests and discuss issues affecting public schools in NYC, the state level and nationally. You can stream or subscribe to the podcast here; or at iTunes, Spotify or Google.
We held our annual Skinny award dinner Wed. June 28, 2023, honoring Rep. Jamaal Bowman, former Bronx principal and now a progressive trailblazer who is fighting in Congress to protect and improve our public schools. More photos on Facebook .
