February 10, 2026 Below is the written City Council testimony for the Feb. 10 hearing on Mayoral control. More observations and testimonies for the hearing are posted on the NYC Parents blog here. Feb. 12 Update: Just two days after the hearing, my list of major scandals and corruption under Mayoral control listed in […]
Here is a briefing I gave to CB 12 in Manhattan; if you’d like a similar one with data specific to your district for your CEC, Community Board or other community/parent group, please contact us at info@classsizematters.org; thanks! “
Jan. 12, 2026 Here is the presentation I gave CB 12 in Manhattan on January 8, 2026, on the multiple risks of using AI in K12 schools, and the need for rigorous protections. If your CEC, Community Board, or other organization would like a similar briefing, please reach out to us. Thanks! “
Jan. 1, 2026 Just a quick update to let you know that yesterday, Zohran Mamdani announced that he was appointing District 3 Superintendent Kamar Samuels as his Chancellor. He also said he was renouncing his previous position that Mayoral control needs reform, expressed frequently during his campaign, and that he would ask the Legislature to […]
Dec. 29, 2025 This has been a watershed year for class size in NYC public schools. Nearly 750 schools lowered class size this fall to far smaller levels, and about 60% of classes achieved the benchmarks required by the law which we helped pass in 2022. In these classrooms, teachers are ecstatic about the changes […]
Dec. 22, 2025 The DOE is rapidly expanding the use of AI in our schools, despite the glaring lack of guidelines or guardrails, and despite the growing evidence that AI use may undermine student privacy, cognitive skills, critical thinking, creativity and the health of the local and global environment. I was quoted in this Chalkbeat […]
Dec. 17, 2025 This is a last minute email to let you know that DOE has removed the AI products from tonight’s PEP agenda, because they were told they would not be approved! A big thank you to those of you who sent emails in opposition. And for those who were planning to attend to […]
Check out the presentation here and below that we recently provided to the Education Committee of the NYC Bar Association about the weaknesses in DOE’s treatment of student privacy and AI. If you’d like a similar briefing for your CEC or other organization, please let us know by emailing info@studentprivacymatters.org “
Comments on the IBO report on costs of compliance For immediate release: December 16, 2025 For more information: Leonie Haimson, leonie@classsizematters.org; 917-435-9329 The IBO’s latest report includes cost estimates for staffing to meet the class size caps in the law, based upon figures two years old. However, the report also points out that accounting for […]
December 12, 2025 A couple of quick requests: Please call Gov. Hochul’s office ASAP, especially if you haven’t already, to urge her to sign S7599C, the Loading Act, without weakening its provisions. She is in negotiations right now about what changes she would like to the bill. Recently, she forced significant changes before […]
Sign the petition asking for a moratorium on the use of AI until rigorous safeguards are established to protect student privacy, learning and the environment.
Click to see our presentation!
We honored Dr. Betty Rosa, former Bronx principal, District Superintendent, Board of Regents member and now NY State Education Commissioner for courageously standing up against the Trump administration on the importance of preserving Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs in our public schools. 
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, Daniel Alicea and Kaliris Salas Ramirez interview guests and discuss issues affecting public schools in NYC, the state level and nationally. You can stream or subscribe to the podcast here at Simplecast; or at iTunes, Spotify or Google.
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.
