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Legal challenge to NYC class sizes & school overcrowding

This article discusses the legal challenge to class sizes and school overcrowding in NYC. It highlights the impact of class size on learning outcomes and the failure to effectively reduce class sizes. The article also addresses the Contracts for Excellence law passed in 2007 and the lack of progress in reducing class sizes since then. The upcoming court hearing and the importance of small class sizes for academic achievement are also mentioned.

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Legal challenge to NYC class sizes & school overcrowding

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  1. Legal challenge to NYC class sizes & school overcrowding Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council 6/14/18 Leonie Haimson, Class Size Matters www.classsizematters.org

  2. CFE lawsuit & decision re: class size • In 2003, NYS Court of Appeals concluded NYC students deprived of constitutional right to a sound basic education. Key issue: class size. • “Plaintiffs presented measurable proof, credited by the trial court, that NYC schools have excessive class sizes, and that class size affects learning.” • “Plaintiffs' evidence of the advantages of smaller class sizes supports the inference sufficiently to show a meaningful correlation between the large classes in City schools and the outputs...of poor academic achievement and high dropout rates.” • “[T]ens of thousands of students are placed in overcrowded classrooms…. The number of children in these straits is large enough to represent a systemic failure.”

  3. Researchers agree • Class size reduction one of handful of reforms proven to work through rigorous evidence, acc. to Inst. Education Sciences of US Ed Dept. • Students in smaller classes do better in every way can be measured; better test scores, grades, fewer disciplinary problems • Higher HS grad rates & college-going rates • More likely to major in STEM field & own home and have 401k years later • Benefits of small classes twice as large for disadvantaged & students of color, very effective at narrowing the achievement gap.

  4. Contract for Excellence law passed in 2007 • April 2007, NY State settled CFE lawsuit by passing the Contracts for Excellence (C4E) law. • Legislature agreed to send billions in additional aid to NYC & other high needs school districts to be spent in six approved areas, including class size reduction, and to reform the funding system. • In a separate provision, NYC had to submit a plan to the state reduce class size in all grades • •In fall of 2007, NYSED approved NYC C4E plan to reduce class sizes to average no more than 20 students per class in K-3; 23 in grades 4-8 and 25 in HS classes to be achieved over 5 years • In return, NYS has sent billions in C4E funds cumulatively to NYC since 2007, though funding has never reached its promised full level & other state cuts have intervened

  5. Average K-3 class sizes INCREASED since 2007 & are STILL 15% larger than when C4E law was passed

  6. Average class sizes in grades 4-8 also increased & are 6% above 2007 levels

  7. Average HS class also are slightly above 2007 levels

  8. What these class size averages do NOT show • There are extreme inequities across districts and schools in terms of class size • The number of students in very large classes has grown sharply since 2007 in grades K-8

  9. The number of Kindergarten students in classes of 25 or more has nearly doubled since 2007

  10. Number of 1st thru 3rd graders in classes of 30 or more has exploded by nearly 3800%

  11. Number of 4th-8th graders in classes of 30 or more has nearly doubled since 2007

  12. This year, at least 291,809 students are in very large classes of 30 or more

  13. DOE promised SED in 2014 that they would focus their class size efforts on Renewal schools • Yet between Feb. 2014- Feb. 2017, nearly 40% Renewal schools did not reduce class sizes • In 2017, 73% of these schools continued to have maximum class sizes of 30 or more • No Renewal school capped class sizes at C4E levels of 20 in K-3, 23 in grades 4th-8th, and 25 in HS core classes

  14. What about space? • C4E law required that NYC would align its school capital plan with its class size reduction plan; that never happened • School capital plan is underfunded & will only create about ½ seats necessary according to DOE • DOE capacity formula STILL aligned with larger class sizes than averages in 4-8th grades (28) and HS(30) – despite proposal by Blue Book WG to align them w/ smaller class sizes in the original C4E plan. • City Hall sat on this proposal for 6 months and rejected it in July 2015.

  15. I FOILed the decision memo from City Hall • In April 2016 I requested memo to see why the Mayor rejected proposal to align the school capacity formula with smaller classes • More than 1 year later, I received the memo almost totally blacked out; here are pgs 1-3

  16. Now we’ve taken our appeal to court • The DOE responded to our SED complaint, claiming they no longer had any duty to reduce class size citywide as the five yr plan had “expired.” • In a very poorly worded decision, SED denied our claim, even though the C4E law hasn’t changed & still requires NYC to reduce class size citywide. • In January 2018, we sued SED and DOE in the State Supreme Court, challenging their refusal to enforce and comply with the C4E law as regards class size. • Oral arguments will be heard in the NY Supreme Court in Albany, likely sometime in July.

  17. Public Advocate Letitia James on class size lawsuit “Studies have shown us time and time again that when class sizes are too big, children do not get the attention and resources they need to thrive. Despite a legal obligation to reduce class sizes, the Department of Education has continued to allow classes in New York City to grow substantially, denying our children the education they deserve and putting far too much pressure on teachers. I am proud to continue standing with Class Size Matters and parents until the City makes good on their commitment to our children.”

  18. Councilman Danny Dromm on the Class Size Lawsuit“It is unfortunate that it has come to the point where a lawsuit is needed to address the issue of reducing class size. As a former NYC public school teacher, I know how important small class size is to improved student outcomes.  Sadly, hundreds of thousands of our students are still crammed into classes of 30 or more and do not receive the attention they need to succeed.  This situation is unacceptable and needs to be fixed.”

  19. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. on class size lawsuit “Smaller classes are necessary to create the vibrant, interactive learning environments our students need to succeed. Far too many of our city’s students are currently trying to learn in overcrowded classrooms, and we can no longer accept the status quo on this critical issue.”

  20. If you want to be kept updated…. • About our class size lawsuit, school overcrowding, student privacy or any other issue we work on… • Subscribe to our occasional newsletter at www.classsizematters.org • Or sign our attendance list and we will subscribe you.

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