By September 2028, NYS high school classes, excluding physical education, will be capped at 25 students as a result of New York State’s class size law. This legislation was sponsored by our state senator, John Liu, and signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul. The editorial board encourages the DOE, the Mayor, and the State to come up with a plan that avoids a one-size-fits-all approach to class sizes by considering the different needs of various schools and the capabilities of each school to adapt to the law.
At Townsend Harris High School, students may experience changes as a result of this law in a variety of ways. According to the 2024-2025 Elective Guide, 52 non-mandatory elective classes were offered to students. The requirements for a reduction in class sizes may result in fewer elective courses being offered to students. This is because classrooms and teachers (or new teachers) would need to cover additional sections of core classes that are mandated for graduation. This potential decrease in electives negatively affects students who seek to attend schools with a wide variety of course offerings.
At THHS there are currently 1,271 enrolled students. Even at the current number of students, we have numerous students competing for each general education seat. According to the 2024-2025 New York City Class Size report, the average class size at THHS is around 30 students per class. This number is over the 25 students that would be permitted in each classroom. Absent additional space for classrooms at THHS, this change could lead to seats becoming significantly more competitive, impacting the already very low acceptance rates, and resulting in fewer students joining the THHS community.
However, this wouldn’t be limited to THHS. According to the DOE’s Class Size Reduction Plan for 2025, more than 500 schools across the city would need additional space to comply with the law. In addition, City & State estimates that 17,700 new teachers would need to be hired, an amount that may be untenable considering the national teacher shortage. According to Chalkbeat, since the pandemic, the DOE has faced higher teacher attrition rates as well as a lack of applicants for teaching core subjects such as Physical Education, Math, and Science.
In an interview with The Classic, Principal Brian Condon said that he is concerned about how the law will impact the school, “I would need one third more teaching capacity…there are neither the teachers available to do this nor is there money to pay for it or space to do it… [At THHS,] between 170 and 225 kids take AP Calculus…So if I had to cut that by a third, how many students are not going to be able to take calculus? So then kids are going to say: ‘Well, I should go to a different school, maybe a bigger school, where they run more sections of things like calculus and physics than Townsend Harris does because I want to take those courses and Townsend Harris can’t offer them.’” He said that he believes the law was designed with good intentions and he will do what’s necessary to follow it, but that he fears there will be negative unintended consequences.
English Teacher and UFT Chapter Chair Kevin McDonaugh shared similar thoughts. In an interview with The Classic, he said that the class size law is a good law in theory, but “we need both more teachers and more space. We can get the money for more teachers supposedly but we would need either [Queens College] to rent us space in their building or we would have to build an extra floor on the current building. The other option is lowering enrollment for the incoming freshman class. However, we are not interested in limiting the amount of students that come here for smaller classes. […] The one thing we need is more space.” The Editorial Board shares Mr. McDonaugh’s view on the law and hopes the DOE will share their plan to ensure enrollment in popular programs like ours at THHS is able to continue and thrive.
We do not intend to dispute the wide variety of evidence that shows the positive effects of smaller class sizes. We completely understand that smaller class sizes are absolutely necessary to help both students and teachers succeed. Smaller class sizes would allow for a more personalized experience and would help students learn faster. However, it is unclear how the city’s current plan will effectively allow schools to individually adapt to their wide variety of needs following the implementation of this law. It is necessary to provide schools with added clarity on the plan for how this can be accomplished, and we oppose any changes to the existing, established systems to fit this policy without transparent communication from the DOE.
