NYC Council poised to approve class-size transparency bill

The New York City Council is poised to approve a bill that would track the city’s progress on reducing class size — a state mandate that the mayor’s office has opposed and that advocates say the city is struggling to meet.

The bill cleared the education committee with unanimous support and is now up for a full Council vote during its stated 1:30 p.m. meeting on Tuesday.

The bill aims to track the Department of Education's progress with a five-year phase-in of a state law passed in 2022 that requires class sizes to be reduced by 2028. The state's mandated limits on each class size vary depending on grade level and range from 20 to 25 students.

“Though New York City public schools currently provides reporting on the average class size of all DOE schools and programs, reporting on actual size would provide increased transparency that would allow the public to assess New York City public schools’ progress toward compliance with the law,” said Councilmember Rita Joseph, the education committee chair, before the committee vote on Tuesday morning.

Besides requiring the DOE to disclose actual class sizes, the bill would also expand reporting on the number of students in special programs, including English language learners and students with disabilities.

Advocates and the United Federation of Teachers have pushed for smaller class sizes for years, citing research that shows potential learning benefits for students among other positive impacts.

But they have since expressed concerns that the city risks falling short of fulfilling its mandate within the required time frame. The Independent Budget Office released a report last year that put the price tag of compliance at nearly $2 billion annually, saying more than 17,000 additional teachers would need to be hired.

“We’ll face some difficult choices that will be required to maintain compliance as the law’s requirements scale up,” Emma Vadehra, the Department of Education’s chief operating officer, said during a Council hearing last month.

But supporters say the mandate's importance outweighs the difficulties.

“Our kids only get one chance at a good education,” said Councilmember Lynn Schulmann, who sits on the education committee and voted in favor of the reporting bill on Tuesday morning.