Overview
- A coalition including Robin Hood, Educators for Excellence, and EdTrust-New York urged the Education Department to request a legally allowed pause in the financial-impact statement due Saturday.
- The state law caps classes at 20–25 students by 2028, with about 60% compliance this year and a far tougher 80% benchmark next year.
- City officials declined to say if they will seek a pause, and while the state can withhold funds for noncompliance, the extent of Commissioner Betty Rosa’s authority over any pause is not clearly defined.
- Advocates argue a uniform rollout would shift teachers and space toward higher-income schools and require hiring more than 10,000 educators at an annual cost estimated at $1.3–$1.9 billion, not including construction.
- The United Federation of Teachers opposes delaying the law, saying the initiative favors high-need schools, as Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s position on using a pause remains unclear.