A last-ditch effort to push Mayor Adams and his administration to slow the implementation of new class size caps before Zohran Mamdani takes office has failed.
Over the recent objections of a coalition of education advocates, a trove of compliance documents released Monday showed local education officials did not request that the state pause the final years of the phase-in.
After the next two school years, all classrooms must be capped between 20 and 25 students, depending on their grade level.
“Smaller class sizes change lives by making it easier for kids to learn,” Mayor Adams said in a statement, which celebrated a 64% compliance rate — 4 percentage points more than what the law required this fall. “Surpassing 60 percent of our class-size reduction target for the 2025-2026 school year is a major step forward, and we’re not slowing down.”
By law, the city had one opportunity on Nov. 15 to ask for a delay, though the legislation’s sponsor indicated last week that he would be open to modifying the timeline if the mayor-elect asked. There are also exemptions available, and several have already been given out to the city’s specialized high schools.
“Because of the significant progress that [New York City Public Schools] has made, even in the least compliant districts, NYCPS does not believe that a pause is necessary,” read the city’s financial impact statement on the class size law.
As part of the statement, local education officials lowered their cost estimate of smaller class sizes, though projections remain substantial. The new range at full implementation is between $949.2 million and $1.7 billion on new teacher salaries, depending on if the city allocates funding to schools directly or through an existing per-pupil formula.
The previous estimate, last calculated three years ago, was between $1.4 and $1.9 billion. Neither estimate includes capital costs, which may reach $18 billion, according to the city’s School Construction Authority.
Evan Stone, CEO of Educators for Excellence, one of the groups that advocated for the delay, said that any law that sends significantly more funding to schools with lower needs at the expense of the lowest-income students “absolutely needs to be paused.”
He urged Mamdani to take up the issue in Albany, saying, “We can’t afford to move forward without a change.”
The equity concerns stem from an argument that students in the highest-need schools stand to benefit the least from a law that enforces – and funds – smaller class sizes.
As of this fall, 78% of classes in schools in the highest category of economic need are currently at or below the new caps, with particularly high rates in Bushwick, Ocean Hill-Brownsville, and Bedford-Stuyvesant, according to the new data. Meanwhile, schools where families clamor for seats can have some of the largest class sizes because of high demand.
But proponents of the education reform say the comparison should not be intraschool system with high needs across the five boroughs, but between city schools and wealthy, suburban districts — where class sizes tend to be lower.
“The class size law is a success,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “Thousands of students are feeling the impact. Educators are sharing they have more individual time with their students. Our job now is to keep moving until all students can benefit from lower class sizes.”
PS 15 ROBERTO CLEMENTE SCHOOL
Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers union, speaks to the media after visit to P.S. 15 on the Lower East Side on Sept. 29, 2020.
The city exceeded this year’s 60% compliance requirement through a combination of enrollment declines and a $458-million investment in new teacher positions and other steps to lower class sizes. Those posts were filled through a number of measures outlined in the report, including teacher recruitment programs, bonuses for hard-to-staff postings, and a new student teaching initiative.
“Our priority this past year was to ensure that our school leaders had the support they needed in making the transition to lower class sizes, and we are thrilled to welcome thousands of new teachers and staff toward that end,” said Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos.
Barry Williams/ New York Daily News
New York City Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos speaksduring a press conference announcing baselining funding annually for critical education programs Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at the DOE headquarters in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
Aviles-Ramos recently launched a citywide survey that asks all schools what they need to reduce class sizes next academic year, as first reported by the Daily News. Beyond that, it will be up to Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and his chancellor to see the new caps through over the next couple of years. Mamdani has considered keeping Aviles-Ramos in her post, according to sources.
On the campaign trail, Mamdani unveiled plans for a new tuition assistance program to attract more students to the teaching profession.
