After lawmakers agreed to delay the new regulation’s deadline for one year, Gov. Hochul signed off on a measure Thursday restricting class sizes in the city’s public schools.
The governor signed the law despite Mayor Adams’ concerns about the costs of reducing the number of kids per classroom.
The number of students in each classroom will be limited to 20 to 25 depending on grade level by 2028, a year later than the original draft. Most grade levels are currently limited to 30 to 34 students.
The Democrat-led Legislature approved the proposal in June as part of a package of education bills that included a two-year extension of mayoral control of municipal schools, despite Adams’ request for at least four years.
In recent months, the mayor and city school officials lobbied the governor to drop the mandate, claiming that additional monies would be required to implement the class cap.
Schools Chancellor David Banks openly supported Adams’ objection, and the city Education Department projected that reducing class sizes in elementary schools alone would cost $500 million per year.
Over the summer, banks referred to the law as a “multibillion-dollar unfunded requirement.”
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