"Mayoral Control" bill (A10499/S09459) and “Class Size Cap” bill (A10498/S9460), introduced and passed by the state legislature within 72 hours, are an insult to New York City parents and is potentially harmful to our children. We ask Governor Hochul to veto both bills.

Mandating class size caps will cut seats in programs that NYC families want more of: gifted and talented (G&T), AP courses, Specialized High Schools (SHSAT) and other in-demand middle and high schools. Many schools are overcrowded largely because of space constraints; thus, placing caps will force students into trailers or rezoned and bused to under-enrolled schools with capacity. The City's schools are experiencing reduced enrollment and the caps on Kindergarten entry will result in smaller budgets for schools. While the efficacy of reduced class size continues to be debated, it is clear that other current and future programs may be sacrificed to meet this unfunded mandate. Those programs have been proven to positively impact learning outcomes, particularly in communities with the greatest needs.  

The legislation also disregards parent concerns regarding representation on the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP), the school system's governing body. Specifically, the inclusion of high school parents through the Citywide Council on High School (CCHS) was ignored. The CCHS should have a PEP appointee, and that change was not made. Furthermore, the establishment of a new voting system for the selection of Borough representatives on the Panel for Educational Policy is flawed, undemocratic and, in fact, counter-productive. All public school parents with children attending schools in the borough should be able to vote for their Borough representatives,⁠ not just the Council Presidents. The true inclusion of parent voices in the education process means that the full diversity of perspectives should be a reality in the selection of Borough representatives. Such diversity cannot be achieved if only 32 Council Presidents are involved in the selection process. Opening the voting to all public school parents encourages real participation. Limiting the voting to Presidents encourages political games.

These bills do not have the best interests of families and students in mind. We urge Governor Hochul to veto both bills.

Petition Authors:
-- Yiatin Chu, President, Asian Wave Alliance, Co-Founder PLACE NYC
-- Mona Davids, President, NYC Parents Union, Founding Member, NYC School Safety Coalition
-- Karen Wang, President, Citywide Council on High Schools (views expressed are her own)