Education and Legal Priorities for New York City Schools Respectfully Submitted to the Mamdani Administration

SUMMARY

The Education and the Law Committee (Diana Aragundi and Jeffrey Metzler, Co-Chairs) issued a transition memo to the Mamdani Administration urging the mayor’s office to focus on several priority areas. Those areas include, but are not limited to: (1) state class size reduction mandates; (2) ongoing federal court oversight of special education service delivery; (3) persistent chronic absenteeism affecting one-third of students; (4) combatting rising antisemitism in schools; (5) increasing support and funding for arts education to ensure compliance with state arts education learning requirements; and (6) overall budget stabilization amid declining enrollment and reduced state aid. The memo explains why these issues demand urgent attention, highlights key policy and legal considerations, and makes recommendations to address each of these areas. “We understand that this administration is faced with many challenges and pressures, but we urge it to prioritize education—since students are the future of New York City. The current administration has inherited acute legal, fiscal, and operational pressures in education, but addressing these key issues brings new opportunities to enhance the quality of education for all [NYC public school] students.”

REPORT

REPORT BY THE EDUCATION AND THE LAW COMMITTEE

EDUCATION AND LEGAL PRIORITIES FOR NEW YORK CITY SCHOOLS
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED TO THE MAMDANI ADMINISTRATION

On behalf of the Education and the Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association, we write to Mamdani Administration to identify priority areas requiring immediate policy decisions and legal consideration during his first year in office. Several matters involve statutory deadlines, pending litigation, and significant fiscal and legal implications that demand urgent attention.

The most pressing issues include, but are not limited to: (1) state class size reduction mandates; (2) ongoing federal court oversight of special education service delivery; (3) persistent chronic absenteeism affecting one-third of students; (4) combatting rising antisemitism in schools; (5) increasing support and funding for arts education to ensure compliance with state arts education learning requirements; and (6) overall budget stabilization amid declining enrollment and reduced state aid.

I. STATE REQUIREMENT: CLASS SIZE MANDATES

A. Overview

As the Mayor’s office knows, under a recently enacted law, all of New York City’s public schools must cap class sizes at 20 to 25 students, depending on grade level, by 2028. With respect to the class size reduction mandate, the preliminary budget bodes well in ensuring that state mandates are achieved.^[1] We encourage the Administration to continue working closely with the Legislature on a realistic time frame for meeting the deadlines and a realistic plan to achieve compliance.

B. Why This is Urgent

Failure to meet the legal requirements can result in corrective action and withholding of $10.5 billion in state Foundation Aid.^[2] Without a calibrated and well-considered plan, there could be significant cuts in critical student services and programs like Advanced Placement (AP) classes and electives, schedules may gridlock, and equity for underserved students will suffer, especially for students relying on advanced coursework for college competitiveness.

C. Recommended Actions

• Direct New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) to propose a realistic time frame for implementation and a realistic plan to achieve compliance, including fast-tracking certified teacher recruitment to meet the state’s requirements,^[3] and identifying space to build new schools and utilizing space in available buildings. We urge this administration to consider creative and practical plans, and to ensure protection of academic rigor and minimal disruption to communities in meeting this mandate.
• Direct NYCPS to propose a realistic time frame to deliver and then implement a funded staffing-and-space plan while maintaining or increasing AP/elective seats, adding exemptions for AP/IB (International Baccalaureate[4]), gifted, Career and Technical Education (CTE), arts, accelerated math/science, and specialized high schools, with school-by-school timelines and contingencies.^[5]
• Greenlight immediate capital and leasing actions for space-constrained schools and a fast-track hiring pipeline of certified teachers aligned to shortage areas.

II. SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES

A. Why This is Urgent

In 2023, Manhattan Federal Judge Loretta Preska issued a comprehensive court order (L.V. v. New York City Department of Education) requiring the city to expedite provision of special education services to families who prevail in due process proceedings. As of August 2025, the City remained out of compliance with most provisions—orders for services were implemented on time in only 9.5% of cases; payment orders were fulfilled on time in just 1% of cases.^[6]

B. Systemic Deficiencies

• Service Delivery Failures: During the 2021-22 school year, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) failed to fulfill 13,800 recommendations for support services (speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, counseling). Nearly 10,000 preschool students missed required services entirely.^[7]
• Claims Explosion: City spending on due process claims for special education services grew from $33 million in FY2012 to $372 million in FY2022, a more than tenfold increase.^[8]
• Preschool Seat Shortage: Hundreds of children remain on waiting lists for preschool special education classes, violating their legal rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).^[9]
• Racial and Economic Disparities: Recommendations for services are less likely to be fully provided for students in predominantly Black and Hispanic districts and in districts with a higher economic needs index (which measures the percentage of students living in poverty).^[10]
• Transportation Failures: NYCPS repeatedly fails to provide reliable and legally mandated transportation for students with disabilities. Update the bus routing methodology and tools (including GPS) to find the most efficient route for pickup and delivery between home and school to ensure students can meet their mandated Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Many rides routinely extend well beyond the school day, meaning students are on the buses for too many hours in violation of their IEP and frequently arrive late to school on the bus, missing instructional time, meals, therapies, and sometimes face exhaustion or stress that affects learning.^[11]

C. Recommended Actions

• Prioritize compliance with L.V. court order.
• Establish dedicated funding stream for preschool special education expansion.
• Ensure high-quality, special education services are available in all public schools.

III. CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM

A. Why This is Urgent

Approximately one in three students was chronically absent in the 2024-25 school year (meaning they miss 10% or more of the school year), only a slight improvement from 34.8% the prior year.^[12] NYC students attend school less than their national peers.^[13] Chronic absenteeism rates are significantly higher for NYCPS students in temporary housing (51.7% of whom are chronically absent), students with disabilities (44.8%), Black students (41.5%), and Hispanic students (41.7%).^[14] Persistent absenteeism undermines all other educational interventions and should be addressed through sustained, multi-pronged engagement strategies. If NYCPS students continue to attend school less than their counterparts in other U.S. public schools, it is fair to say they will learn less.

Research supports multi-tiered approaches including early warning systems, family engagement, and addressing barriers such as transportation and health needs.^[15]  The administration has pledged to prioritize services for students in temporary housing and those with disabilities, populations with the highest absenteeism rates, and we applaud Chancellor Samuels for pledging to focus on addressing this chronic absenteeism issue.[16]

B. Recommended Actions

• Establish a Mayor-led, cross-agency task force on attendance (DOE, Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), Department of Homeless Services (DHS)).
• Expand community schools model where absenteeism is highest, with embedded transportation, health, and family supports.
• Prioritize investments in schools serving students in temporary housing and lead a coordinated homelessness response focused on attendance, transportation, and timely access to mandated services.

IV. COMBATTING ANTISEMITISM IN K-12 SCHOOLS

A. Why This is Urgent

New York City must treat the prevention and redress of rising antisemitism in K–12 schools as a primary, systemwide priority.^[17]  According to the NYPD, anti-Jewish hate crimes increased by 182% in January 2026 compared to January 2025.^[18] Antisemitic incidents accounted for 57% of reported hate crimes in 2025, although only approximately 10% of New York City residents are Jewish. Jewish New Yorkers were the targets of hate crimes more than all other groups combined.^[19] The urgency is threefold: student and teacher safety and equal access to learning are at immediate risk; NYC faces heightened legal exposure under Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, New York’s Dignity for All Students Act, and State and City Human Rights Laws; and mounting damage to school climate, attendance, and the ability of Jewish students to learn and Jewish teachers to teach free from bias. Despite clear directives in Chancellor’s Regulations A-830 and A-832, enforcement has been inconsistent, leaving students and staff exposed.

B. Policy and Legal Considerations

• Legal Exposure: Failure to remedy hostile environments based on shared ancestry or ethnicity risks investigations, corrective action, and funding consequences under applicable laws. At least two pending suits against NYCPS allege failures to prevent antisemitism, including incidents at Origins High School and Hillcrest High School.^[20]
• Campaign Commitment: Mayor Mamdani stated: “I have always spoken out against antisemitism and hatred in any form and have made it clear that the commitment I have made is to protect New Yorkers.”^[21] Chancellor Samuels has aptly noted in the context of parent training on racism (which should include parent training on antisemitism): “We need to equip our staff to have courageous conversations focused on shifting attitudes and interrupting prejudice, addressing controversial issues, and coalition-building.”^[22]

C. Recommended Actions

• Designate a single accountable executive to deliver an effective, systemwide plan to track and combat antisemitism.
• Deploy a centralized, transparent, auditable incident-reporting system and establish public dashboards for accountability.
• Fully enforce Chancellor’s Regulations A-830 (Antidiscrimination Policy and Procedures for Filing Internal Complaints of Discrimination) and A-832 (Student-to-Student Discrimination, Harassment, Intimidation and/or Bullying) and ensure adherence to Title VI and VII, and New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws.^[23]
• Update regulations as needed to adopt clear definitions of antisemitism and harassment, including contemporary forms, and implement robust anti-retaliation safeguards for those reporting incidents or participating in investigations.
• Ensure curriculum and instructional materials align with NYCPS policies and the law requiring educators to foster inclusive, fair, and non-discriminatory environments.^[24]
• Mandate role-specific, ongoing professional development on contemporary and historical antisemitism for principals, administrators, Title VI coordinators, educators, and staff.
• Working with others^[25] and consistent with the NYC Council’s Five-Point Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism,^[26] rapidly implement culturally responsive education on contemporary and historical forms of antisemitism, expand Holocaust education citywide, distribute materials to students regarding the ways that social media use can contribute to antisemitism, and provide education on Jewish-Americans’ contributions to America in general curriculum for students and stakeholders, including parents.^[27]

V. INCREASED SUPPORT AND FUNDING FOR ARTS EDUCATION

A. Why This is Urgent

Arts education is part of a well-rounded education under the Every Student Succeeds Act, 20 U.S.C. § 6301 (2015). New York State Education Department’s (“NYSED”) Instructional Requirements for the Arts (“state standards”) provide for sequential instruction in dance, music, theater, and visual arts taught by certified arts teachers and supplemented with partnerships from community arts and cultural organizations.^[28]  Arts education improves mental health and social-emotional development, teaches skills that strengthen academic outcomes, and provides necessary preparation for careers in the arts in New York, a key economic sector in our city and state representing 7.8% of the state’s GDP.^[29]  Arts education also improves attendance rates and increases student engagement offering a unique tool to assist with addressing absenteeism.

Despite these well-established benefits and state standards requiring a well-rounded sequential arts education in this city known as the capital of the arts, many NYC schools fail to meet state arts standards, denying thousands of students this core part of their education. Only 31% of NYC middle schools meet state standards for arts education. In addition, at least 290 schools have no certified arts teacher.^[30] In addition, many schools lack partnerships with arts and cultural institutions. These gaps in access to arts education typically fall hardest on schools serving low-income students.^[31]

This Committee and the Committee on Children and the Law raised this concern with the prior administration and asked the Mayor and City Council leadership to take action addressing these gaps.[32] While the prior administration’s investment of $41 million in baselined funding for arts education helps lay the groundwork towards increasing access to arts education to meet state standards, the City Council and this administration should provide additional increases in funding and support for arts education to help ensure access for all students to this essential part of education.

B. Policy and Legal Considerations

• Legal framework: NYC has a duty to provide arts instruction in compliance with state standards to all students.^[33]
• Equity concerns: Access disparities mirror broader inequities. Schools serving predominantly low-income students are typically least likely to meet state standards or have certified arts teachers or cultural partnerships.
• Budget vulnerability: During budget cuts, arts are often first on the chopping block.
• Workforce development: Arts education provides critical skills to prepare students for success in the workforce, including teaching problem-solving, perseverance, and collaboration—and providing a pipeline for students into New York’s arts and culture economy with essential training for this sector and useful training for other creative careers.

C. Recommended Actions

• Act now to deliver arts education aligned with state standards in every school with funding to deliver this and close compliance gaps.
• Staff every school with at least one certified arts teacher to serve all students and expand school partnerships with local arts and cultural institutions.
• Increase and stabilize baselined arts funding across all NYC schools, including increasing the per-student arts allocation and restoring and enhancing the “Support for Arts Instruction” initiative funding.
• Increase and baseline funding for the arts through the Department of Cultural Affairs to help expand public school arts programming and funding from arts and cultural institutions.
• Require arts funding to be spent on arts education and instruction.
• Expand arts programming and arts career pathways by centering art in Career Technical Education (“CTE”), afterschool programs (including universal afterschool), and summer programs (including Summer Rising).

VI. KEY BUDGET ITEMS AND DECLINING ENROLLMENT

The U.S. DOE’s FY2026 $42.8 billion budget is under immediate, compounding strain. Changes to the state Foundation Aid formula last year intended to update this severely outdated per student funding mechanism to more accurately represent increased costs of funding schools today actually resulted in NYC public schools receiving $314 million less from the State than they would have received without any changes to the Formula.^[34]   Further, a new Independent Budget Office Report shows that, if this formula remains unchanged, NYC schools would receive around $250 million less under the FY27 Executive Budget proposal than they would have received under the FY25 formula before the changes made last year. This shortfall is due to an update to the poverty weight which inaccurately measures poverty the same way across New York State despite significantly higher costs in NYC.  Our committee joins the Coalition for Equitable Education Funding (CEEF), a coalition of over 120 organizations, in asking the Mayor and City Council leaders to advocate for a change to the state Foundation Aid formula by adding a weight for homeless students and students in foster care and updating the Regional Cost Index.

While we are pleased that the Mayor’s preliminary budget extends and baselines funding for two critical initiatives (summer programming and preschool special education programs) that were due to expire in July 2026, the preliminary budget fails to provide funding for certain essential programs that were funded for one year only and are due to expire—placing these programs at risk of elimination.^[35] We ask the Mayor to extend and baseline funding for these programs.

Declining enrollment magnifies these financial pressures to ensure adequate funding for public schools in NYC. Because Fair Student Funding ties dollars to headcount, school allocations risk falling even as many systemwide costs increase or remain fixed. Enrollment has dropped from over 1 million students pre‑pandemic to about 884,000 in Fall 2025 (a decrease of 2.4% from the prior year),^[36] with further declines projected despite a temporary influx of approximately 40,000 migrant students. Reversing this trend will require strong actions to help increase public school enrollment, including requiring stronger academic rigor across grades.

Families are voting with their feet. In the 2024 NYC Public Schools survey of former families, 41% cited the need for more academically rigorous instruction as a top reason for leaving. Academic rigor was the top reason for choosing charter or private schools over NYC public schools.^[37] Among families who left New York City entirely, 50% listed “concerns about schools” among their top five reasons.^[38] And 72% said the lack of academically challenging experiences substantially contributed to their decision.^[39]  The NYSED recently released test scores of students in grades 3–8 at K-12 school districts for 2024-25, showing that, in New York City, just 59% of students were proficient in ELA and only 52% of students in grade 8 were proficient in math (no figures were listed on the school report card for math proficiency for grades 3-8).^[40]

The Mayor should direct, within 120 days, a comprehensive fiscal analysis of the net budget impact of projected enrollment declines and options to manage associated school‑level funding reductions.

VII. CONCLUSION

We understand that this administration is faced with many challenges and pressures, but we urge it to prioritize education—since students are the future of New York City. The current administration has inherited acute legal, fiscal, and operational pressures in education, but addressing these key issues brings new opportunities to enhance the quality of education for all NYCPS students. Early decisions will help determine whether the City restores stability and trust—and delivers for all NYCPS students, including its highest-need students.

Against this backdrop, we urge the administration to:

• Rebuild public trust through transparent decisions.
• Combat antisemitism now by enforcing Chancellor’s Regulations A-830 and A-832, Title VI and VII, protecting students, teachers, and staff, and educating all students, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders.
• Engage communities meaningfully in policy design and implementation.
• Raise academic rigor across subjects and grades.
• Improve governance to drive measurable student outcomes.
• Reduce class size while maintaining or expanding academic rigor and without destabilizing schools and communities.
• Bring special education into compliance by accelerating evaluations, services, and implementation of court orders.

This memorandum provides a framework for initial policy decisions. More detailed briefing materials on each topic should be requested from the Department of Education’s Office of Legal Services and the relevant policy divisions. Additionally, consultation with the City Law Department on pending and anticipated litigation is essential.

We look forward to the opportunity to meet and collaborate with you and your team. Thank you for your attention to these critical issues and for your continued commitment to ensuring that New York City Public Schools remain a model for the nation.

Education and the Law Committee
Diana Aragundi, Co-Chair
Jeffrey Metzler, Co-Chair

April 2026