New York Gov. Kathy Hochul hinted that she may look to pass a bill that would put a cap on class sizes throughout the city.
"I am inclined to be supportive. I just have to work out a few more details with the mayor," Hochul said on Friday.
The cap she was addressing, which lawmakers in Albany passed this session, would range from 20 to 25 students per classroom, depending on the grade. For kindergarten through 3rd grade, the cap would be the most limited, at 20. It would then bump up to 23 children per class for grades 4-8, and bump again to 25 for high school students.
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Despite tepid support from the governor, there is major push back from New York City Mayor Eric Adams. A City Hall spokesperson told NBC New York that "while this administration strongly supports lower class sizes, unless there is guaranteed funding, we will see cuts elsewhere…that would harm our most vulnerable students in our highest need communities."
State Senator John Liu, of Queens, sponsored the legislation, and criticized the city's position.
"They can't continue to say they support small class sizes without actually doing it," Liu said. "He calls it an unfounded mandate, which is just wrong currently and wrong historically. The reality is we’ve already allocated a substantial amount of additional funding for NYC schools."
He said the city has $1.6 billion in state dollars, while Adams said that the change would cost $500 million to implement it in elementary school alone.
The proposal comes at a time when the city is still in court, battling about deep cuts it made to the education budget. Most recently, a judge ordered the city's Department of Education to restore the funding it slashed.
Between funding and the issue of class sizes, there is a lot up in the air for New York City parents and students — all with school set to start in less than two weeks.
