NYC unveils class size plan, delays full compliance to 2030 amid cost and space challenges
New York City Public Schools released their long-awaited plan to shrink classes across city public schools, outlining a gradual rollout that pushes full compliance to 2030, two years later than originally required under state law.
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New York City Public Schools released their long-awaited plan to shrink classes across city public schools, outlining a gradual rollout that pushes full compliance to 2030, two years later than originally required under state law.
The mandate, passed by state lawmakers in June 2022, requires class sizes to eventually be capped at 20 to 25 students, depending on the grade, in order to improve learning conditions.
The mandated caps are as follows:
K-3 cap at 20 students, middle school cap at 23 students and 25 students for high school classes.
The city says the first phase of those limits will be beginning his upcoming school year, but reaching full compliance will take additional time, money and the ultimate challenge, space.
The original deadline for all schools to meet the caps was 2028, but the Mamdani administration secured a two‑year extension from Albany. City officials argued the delay was necessary to save $500 million at a time when the city is facing a multibillion‑dollar deficit
Under a 68-page draft plan that was released this week, class size limits begin phasing in the 2026-2027 school year.
With certain exclusions, the report says 64% of classes citywide already meet the compliance limit, with the remaining classrooms exceeding the cap by only one to three students.
To make this happen, the city estimates it will need $244 million to hire additional teachers across 360 schools.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is also planning to allocate $1.5 billion to build and convert classroom space.
Advocates say the plan still leaves major questions unanswered and does not specify how many new seats will be required or where new classrooms will be located.
"The more I looked at it, the more I realized there is no real plan in there," said Leonie Haimson with Class Size Matters, "they didn't name any specific school that would get any more space or funding to lower class sizes."
Haimson was appointed as a member to the class size mandate working group and says they suggested the DOE align their enrollment plan with class size, including utilizing under-enrolled schools.
"We had a lot of very specific, affordable proposals on how more space could be created more quickly. And they didn't adopt any of them. In fact, they rejected a bunch of them," said Haimson.
The United Teachers Federation says the School Construction Authority ignored the class size law for years, but instead built seats and sited new projects based on other criteria or took no action at all.
"Mayor Mamdani’s decision to revamp the SCA is a necessary and welcome step to jumpstart the process," Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, wrote in a statement. "To the DOE’s credit, the plan includes the first citywide assessment to determine which schools will need construction projects to meet class size law mandates. Missing, however, is a coherent recruitment plan for hiring the necessary additional staff by 2030."
Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels has not signed off on the draft plan, according to the report.
A public comment period will be open from June 25 through July 28.
