New York lawmakers have reached an agreement to give Mayor Mamdani an additional two years to implement a law mandating smaller class sizes, a delay expected to save $500 million and help balance the city’s budget.
The 2022 state law phases in new class sizes caps between 20 and 25 students, depending on grade level. It only applies to New York City. The extension will give the city until the 2029-30 school year to fully implement the law, according to State Sen. John Liu (D-Queens), chair of the NYC education committee. Previously, the deadline was the 2027-28 school year.
It’s expected to be passed as part of an end-of-session omnibus bill in Albany, according to Politico, which first reported the news.
The extension is critical for Mamdani, who was banking on the amendments to help close the city’s multibillion-dollar budget gap. Budget documents released last month showed the city expected to save $508 million from the delay next fiscal year, and $733 million the following year.
The measure was expected to be included in the final state budget, which was signed into law last week nearly two weeks after the statutory deadline. But it was noticeably absent from the financial plan after the Mamdani administration failed to provide the stated legislative language to amend the law in time for the state budget’s passage, the Daily News reported.
“The legal timetable will be extended by two years, empowering the Mamdani administration to at long last bring all NYC class sizes down to state and national norms of teacher-student ratios,” Liu said in a statement.
“This amendment to state law is respondent to clear and accountable teacher recruitment and classroom construction plans developed by the Mamdani administration to be fulfilled within the mayor’s current term of office.”
The News has reached out to City Hall and New York City Public Schools for comment and copies of those plans.
Barry Williams / New York Daily News
The delay is critical for Mayor Mamdani, who was banking on the extension to help close the city’s budget gap. (Barry Williams / New York Daily News)
As part of the extension, the city’s school system is getting more time to hit certain annual milestones as spelled out in the law. This fall, 70% of classrooms must comply with the caps, instead of 80% as currently required, according to Liu’s office. Another 10% of classes will have to come into compliance each year until the phase-in is complete, compared to 20%.
Mamdani at a recent news conference suggested his administration was “distinct” from that of ex-Mayor Eric Adams, who spent most of his term in office pushing back against the cost of the mandate without additional support from Albany.
“We actually want to fulfill this,” Mamdani said last Thursday in Astoria, “and ensure that the spirit of the law is one that we are delivering on — where we have students who have an easier time learning in our classrooms, and teachers who have an easier time teaching in our classrooms.”