City Could Get Two-Year Class Size Extension

New York lawmakers moved this week to give New York City two more years to comply with the state’s school class-size law, shifting the full deadline to the 2029-30 school year. The proposal would also lower the city’s immediate compliance target for this fall, from 80% of classrooms to 70%, before stepping up by 10 percentage points a year after that. (ny1.com) Gov. Kathy Hochul said the change would give the city “some more breathing room” and save about half a billion dollars a year, according to remarks reported by the Daily News. (uft.org) The measure comes as Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration argues it needs more time to hire teachers and add classroom space. (yahoo.com) ### What exactly would change under the proposal? Legislation introduced Monday would give the city until the 2029-30 school year to fully meet the mandate, according to NY1 and the United Federation of Teachers. Under the revised schedule, 70% of classrooms would have to comply in 2026-27, 80% in 2027-28, 90% in 2028-29 and 100% in 2029-30. The 2022 law had required New York City to phase in smaller classes more quickly. The mandate caps classes at 20 students in kindergarten through third grade, 23 in grades four through eight and 25 in high school, and it applies only to New York City. (ny1.com) Before this proposal, full compliance had been expected by the 2027-28 school year. ### Who is pushing the extension in Albany? State Sen. John Liu, a Queens Democrat who chairs the Senate’s New York City education committee, introduced the bill, according to the Daily News report carried by Yahoo. Liu said the amendment would extend the legal timetable by two years while tying the delay to teacher-recruitment and classroom-construction plans from the Mamdani administration. (ny1.com) Gov. Kathy Hochul said the change was negotiated between New York City and the teachers union over what she called “an enormous expense annually.” Hochul said the delay would let the city spread out the cost of implementation and save about half a billion dollars a year. (ny1.com) ### Why do city and union officials say they need more time? The United Federation of Teachers said on June 1 that the agreement reflects the practical limits of hiring and construction at this point in the calendar. The union said other districts have been recruiting since February and that New York City did not yet have a recruitment or capital plan in place to meet the original deadline. (yahoo.com) Michael Mulgrew, the union’s president, said, “We did not want an extension - we want compliance.” Mulgrew said the union accepted the extra time because, in his view, it could be “the fastest way to turn the law into reality” if the administration follows through on building seats, hiring staff and treating exemptions as temporary. (yahoo.com) ### What happens to schools that still exceed the caps? The June 1 union agreement says educators at schools that receive space or hard-to-staff exemptions would be eligible for a pay differential if class sizes remain above the state limits. The UFT said that provision is meant to discourage the city from relying on exemptions as a long-term workaround. (uft.org) More than 60% of classes are already smaller because of the law, Mulgrew said in the union statement. The union also said the city will now provide timelines for building additional seats in overcrowded school communities. (uft.org) ### How much money is at stake? Budget documents released last month projected savings of $508 million in the next fiscal year and $733 million the year after if the extension took effect, according to the Daily News report. NY1 separately reported that the two-year delay would save the city $500 million and help reduce the budget deficit. (uft.org) The city has long said compliance would require both staffing and capital spending. A 2024 class-size reduction plan submitted to the State Education Department said the city intended to meet the law without cutting current programs or staffing, while continuing annual updates to its five-year plan. (uft.org) ### What should parents and teachers watch next? Albany lawmakers are expected to decide whether to approve Sen. Liu’s bill changing the deadline and annual benchmarks. If enacted, the city’s first target under the new schedule would be 70% compliance for the 2026-27 school year, followed by yearly increases until full compliance in 2029-30. (yahoo.com) (p12.nysed.gov)