With mounting federal threats to equity, education policy, and student well-being, the next four years will be a critical moment for New York City’s education system. The federal administration has repeatedly attempted to weaponize funding against the city’s schools in retaliation for defending students’ rights. We reject the false choice between protecting students and preserving resources. Every student deserves to feel safe, seen, and supported in school. Now more than ever, New York City must act decisively to safeguard students and strengthen educational opportunity. The following agenda outlines key steps in early childhood, K-12, and higher education that the next Mayor of New York City should prioritize in their first term.

Universal Child Care

Although New York narrowly avoided a devastating state-level funding shortfall last year, families in New York City continue to face serious gaps in access to child care, with many still waitlisted for assistance. A January 2025 report from the New York City Comptroller notes that child care is a major contributor to the affordability crisis in New York, with families paying on average $18,200 a year for family-based care and $26,000 a year for center-based care in 2024. New York City should provide free universal child care for families with infants and toddlers 0-2 years old.

The next Mayor of New York City should:

• Identify revenue raisers and resources to fund it.
• Cite and retrofit locations for child care centers
• Improve the contracting and payment systems to pay providers
• Build a pipeline of child care educators/providers
• Create a career lattice that pays a living wage and provides career growth pathways

Universal Pre-K and 3-K

New York City has been working towards Universal Pre-K since 2014 and expanded this effort to 3-K beginning in 2017. While most families have access to pre-K, the promise of universal 3-K has not been achieved, with approximately 16,000 more seats needed for 3-K, according to the Comptroller report. Even for those families with access to Pre-k and 3-K seats, many programs are not full day, and families struggle to find and pay for care after school hours. The City has also struggled to match 3-K availability to locations in the city where there is demand for those programs.

The next Mayor of New York City should:

• Increase funding to expand the availability of 3-K seats
• Identify and retrofit locations to cite more 3-K programs
• Develop systems to better match 3-K demand to availability
• Expand programs to full day
• Invest in the early childhood workforce and increasing wages for early childhood providers.

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy

For years, New York City has struggled with providing foundational literacy and numeracy skills to students to set them up for success in middle and high school. This crisis was both exacerbated and exposed by the pandemic, leading to increased scrutiny of how we teach literacy and math in New York City schools. Recently released NAEP results reveal the stark reality: nearly half (46%) of 4th graders scored below Basic in reading—including 58% of Black students and nearly two-thirds (62%) of Latinx students.

In 2023-2024 New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) launched NYC Reads, a new initiative mandating schools to use one of three evidence based curricula and providing coaching for educators on the science of reading and using the new curricula. This was expanded to all elementary schools in the 2024-2025 school year, with early results suggesting the initiative is making progress. To ensure lasting impact, however, literacy instruction must also be paired with social-emotional learning, so that students not only gain academic skills but also feel safe, supported, and engaged in their learning. In 2024-2025, NYCPS launched NYC Solves, a new initiative to adopt uniform high-quality curriculum in math in both middle and high schools.

The next Mayor of New York City should:

• Maintain the main pillars of NYC Reads and Solves (shared high-quality curriculum, universal screening and intervention support, ongoing professional learning for educators, and citywide partnerships)
• Ensure all curriculum is available in the languages of our bilingual and dual languages schools across the city
• Improve interventions and support for multilingual learners (MLLs) and students with disabilities
• Train all teachers in the science of reading and best practices for integrating social emotional learning into their literacy and math instruction
• Create a comprehensive agenda to address adolescent literacy in our middle and high schools, which should include supporting partnerships such as Read Alliance’s partnership with NYCPS and New Visions’ high school reading interventions pilot, and investing in proven, evidence-based high-impact tutoring models designed to address the reading needs of older students

Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Education

Families and communities have raised concerns for years that curriculum and instruction in our NYC schools do not reflect and respect communities of color, particularly Black, Native American, Latinx, and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. In 2019, the New York State Education Department created a Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework, directing school districts to evaluate their materials, policies and practices to make them more affirming of students’ cultural identities. In 2021, NYCPS committed to investing $202 million in a citywide, culturally responsive curriculum for English Language Arts and Math which did not come to fruition. Instead, they created a collection of “hidden voices” social studies modules to examine the contributions of underrepresented individuals and groups throughout history. Modules have been created in areas such as the Stories of Global African Diaspora, LGBTQ+ Stories in United States History, and Latines in United States History. The New York City Council has made significant investments in culturally responsive-sustaining curriculum in recent years, including $3 million for a Latine Studies curriculum and $2.5 million for an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Studies curriculum. Both are part of the New York City Equity Action plan which is a citywide initiative with 18 policy goals aimed at reducing racial disparities in health, policing, education, and other sectors.

The next Mayor of New York City should:

• Require each district to create a plan for implementing the Black studies, Latine, and Asian American Pacific Island curricula, and provide district-level resources and training for teachers to use it
• Build the curriculum that has not been created, specifically Native American studies for middle and high school and AAPI in all grades, and completing the Latine curriculum
• Invest in cross walk between Hidden Voices and Black, Latine, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Native American studies and the ELA curriculum, which is particularly important for elementary schools to help educators implement those curricula in ELA classrooms

School Integration

Despite being one of the most diverse cities in the world, NYC’s schools remain some of the most segregated in the nation. For example, in District 3, 16 schools have 35% or more Black students with an average of 4% White students, while 11 schools have over 35% White students and 8% or fewer Black students. This segregation is the result of longstanding policies around selective admissions, housing, zoning, and enrollment, contributing to systemic inequities in opportunity and resources.

In past years, NYCPS and New York State have taken steps to promote integration, such as Diversity in Admissions programs and the New York State Integration Project. However, recent analysis shows that progress has stalled and, in some cases, reversed. At the same time, a lawsuit challenging racial segregation in NYCPS is moving forward, highlighting the systemic exclusion of Black and Latinx students from selective programs as early as Kindergarten.

The next Mayor of New York City should:

• Require all school districts to create a school integration plan, based on local demographics and root causes of segregation, and replicate successful equitable choice systems such as District 15’s middle school lottery overhaul and other proven strategies
• Recruit, train, and support educators of color to ensure that the teaching workforce reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of the students in NYC
• Collect, analyze, and publicly report NYC school integration data transparently, enabling parents, educators, and policymakers to track progress and guide policy
• Implement the steps outlined above to provide culturally responsive and sustaining education and social-emotional learning, to make learning environments more responsive to students of color

Class Size Mandate

New York City faces significant challenges in meeting the mandated class size reductions, which require K-3 classrooms to be capped at 20 students, grades 4-8 at 23, and high school classes at 25 by the 2027-28 school year. Many schools will lack enough qualified teachers to meet these targets, raising budgetary concerns and questions about whether hiring practices will adequately ensure a teacher workforce that reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of the student body. While the mandate reduces average class sizes by 4–7 students, the benefits may be uneven: 81% of White students would see smaller classes, compared with 56% of Black students and 66% of Latinx students. High-poverty schools, which often already operate with smaller classes, may receive fewer new resources, risking reinforcement of existing inequities.

The next Mayor of New York City should:

• Advocate to pause further implementation of the class size mandate until it can equitably be implemented
• Expand recruitment, training, and support to increase the diversity of the teacher workforce
• Conduct a study on changes that can be made to the class size mandate to ensure the spirit of the law is implemented without inadvertently directing more resources towards high wealth schools
• Implement the mandate equitably, prioritizing high-need schools to reach class size targets first

Mayoral Control and Caregiver and Youth Input

New York City students have experienced significant progress under mayoral control, which has enabled coordinated, system-wide improvements such as the expansion of universal pre-K and initiatives like NYC Reads. Extending mayoral control should, however, include requirements that the system be more accountable to the students, families, and caretakers it serves.

Students and caregivers have limited influence over the decisions that directly affect their schools. Many have voiced concerns, through a state report and in public hearings, that important decisions, including those about school closures and curriculum are made without their input. While New York City conducts an annual School Survey to gather input on school climate and quality, it is unclear how that feedback is used to shape district policy or improve school operations. Parents serve on local and citywide Community Education Councils, and parents vote to elect those parent representatives, yet NYCPS has noted limited parent participation in voting and parent seats on local councils are sometimes unfilled. For example, in 2025 only 31,125 ballots were cast by parents for the Council elections. Finally, while high school students serve on the Community Education Councils, they do not have an actual vote on council decisions.

The next Mayor of New York City should:

• Request an extension of mayoral control in the upcoming New York State legislative session
• Provide students with voting power on Community Education Councils to ensure their perspectives do more than inform decisions, provide participating students stipends for their time on CECs, and provide them with ongoing training to support their voting role
• Require each school district to develop an annual plan to improve schools based on data and trends identified in the School Survey and publicly report a feedback to action dashboard demonstrating actions taken in response to School Survey feedback
• Fund a parent training core run out of NYCPS family and community engagement office to annually train cohorts of parents on education policy, school and district governance, and best practices in educational instruction

Supporting Immigrant Students and Multilingual Learners

New York City is facing a critical moment in supporting immigrant students and multilingual learners (MLLs). The city has welcomed more than 200,000 migrants since 2022 threats to Plyler v. Doe and immigration enforcement in schools, threaten the safety and well-being of students who are undocumented and from mixed-status families, driving many to avoid school out of fear. Schools must remain safe, welcoming, and supportive environment for all students and their families, regardless of immigration status. These policies have already contributed to chronic absenteeism, negatively impacting academic performance, mental health, and long-term educational outcomes. These policies have already contributed to chronic absenteeism, negatively impacting academic performance, mental health, and long-term educational outcomes. These policies have already contributed to chronic absenteeism, negatively impacting academic performance, mental health, and long-term educational outcomes.

MLLs represent nearly 1 in 9 (151,831 total) students in NYCPS, and also encounter systemic obstacles to accessing high-quality instruction. Older students are often directed into Adult ESL or GED programs instead of high school, bilingual programs and summer school are under-resourced, and new literacy and math initiatives like NYC Reads and NYC Solves have not consistently included scaffolds or supports from the outset nor made available in top languages of our bilingual programs. At the postsecondary level, undocumented students face ongoing fears about applying for financial aid and attending college safely, even as New York offers in-state tuition and state aid.

The next Mayor of New York City should:

• Supporting students who stop attending in person by applying lessons from pandemic-era remote learning, while addressing safety risks from trackable devices
• Provide targeted mental health services for students affected by deportation, ICE raids, and fear in their communities
• Continue Operation Open Arms to train school leaders and staff on immigrant student and parent rights and NYCPS policies regarding ICE
• Ensure all curriculum is made available in the top languages of our city’s bilingual programs
• Embed scaffolds and supports for MLL in the literacy and math curricula
• Create a NYC is Multilingual campaign with messaging to embrace our multilingual students and schools, and goals to increase the availability of bilingual programs so that at least 50% of MLLs have access to a bilingual program in their district

School Climate

For decades, the way we have defined and enforced school climate has failed the students who most need support. The absence of fully implemented restorative justice practices and persistently high rates of chronic absenteeism have together helped to create school climates that fail to meet student needs, particularly for Black, Latinx, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Native American students, as well as students from low-income backgrounds.

In the 2023-24 school year 34.8% of NYCPS students were considered chronically absent, including 41.5% of Black students, 41.7% of Latinx students, and 39.1% of students from low-income backgrounds. Chronic absenteeism is closely tied to lower academic achievement and a higher risk of dropping out – just as exclusionary discipline practices are linked to disengagement and disconnection. Approaches such as restorative justice, trauma-and-healing-informed practices, mental health supports, tiered systems of support, and the integration of social-emotional learning into daily instruction offer more effective, equitable ways to meet students’ needs and build supportive school climates. While NYCPS has made some important progress on expanding restorative justice practices, more work remains to ensure these practices are implemented equitably and that school staff are fully trained and equipped to carry them out effectively.

The next Mayor of New York City should:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for addressing the root causes of chronic absenteeism
• Increase funding for restorative justice programs to expand to all schools
• Provide aligned professional development for all teachers and school leaders to ensure they are equipped to implement restorative practices in their classrooms, including training on effective use of data, culturally responsive and healing-centered approaches, family engagement, and restorative discipline strategies
• Require and provide additional funding for collective care teams – multidisciplinary groups of teachers, counselors, social workers, nurses, and administrators – to coordinate academic and social-emotional supports, ensuring all students receive holistic, trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and restorative care

Pathways to College and Career

New York City must ensure that all students have equitably pathways to college and career success, particularly students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. Systemic barriers, including inequitable access to college in high school programs and inadequate emergency financial support in college, limit opportunities for many students.

College in high school programs introduce postsecondary options early and increase the likelihood that students persist and earn a degree. Yet too few students have access. In our 2022 poll, only 23% of young people in NYC reported having access to college in high school programs.

Research on pandemic-era higher education emergency relief shows that considering factors such as location, FAFSA family income, living costs, and dependency status improves student retention. In New York City, with its complex affordability landscape, it is critical to invest in programs that prioritize aid for students facing the greatest barriers to persistence and success.

The next Mayor of New York City should:

• Strengthen supports and emergency aid for students in college, including targeted resources for programs like CUNY’s ASAP and ACE
• Increase city investment in college in high school programs and map program locations to identify gaps in access
• Evaluate college in high school programs and student outcomes to guide evidence-based expansion of high-quality programs