NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks announced Thursday new protocols for High School Admissions after years of battle over integration efforts and selective screening processes.
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Starting with the enrollment cycle for the 2023-2024 school year, the top 15% of High Schoolers citywide will get priority in selective screened high schools.
If there are more applicants in this top percentile than seats at a given school, admission will be decided by lottery.
If there are still open seats after the top percentile students are admitted, students in lower percentiles will be allowed in.
New York City has one of the most segregated school districts in the country, and integration advocates have criticized the city’s elite screened high schools for edging out Black, Latino and low-income students.
The De Blasio administration introduced measures during the early days of the pandemic to do away with test scores and attendance for admission consideration for most schools (though 20 schools were allowed to keep their high admissions standards).
The decision was intended to aid integration efforts and to acknowledge the impact that remote learning had on performance for many students, but the families of high performing students pushed back on the program and the Adams administration has long expressed an interest in changing the process.
Following six months of meetings with families, educators and community groups, the Department of Education has decided to resurrect barriers to entry for most of the city’s exclusive high schools and streamline a labyrinthine application process.
"Six months ago, I promised that we would reform our enrollment and admissions policies and expand access to quality schools," said Banks. “Today, I present changes that take steps toward streamlining our policies, promoting transparency, and making it easier for families to find the right school for their child.”
Alongside the new performance-based admissions process, the DOE is shifting application deadlines earlier.
The application process will start Oct. 12 for high schools and Oct. 26th for middle schools this year, with decisions for high schools in March and for middle schools in April.
Applications can be submitted online on MySchools, through a school counselor or through a Family Welcome Center.
Middle and high school waitlists will also be extended to mid-September, which means if seats open up after the start of the school year, people on waitlists can still join.
In a nod to the need for integration in New York City public schools, the Adams administration also plans to open three new high-performance High Schools in communities of color that have historically been excluded from participating in elite schools.
The schools in the South Bronx, Ocean Hill-Brownsville and Southeast Queens will open by Fall of 2024 and will offer geographic priority to students in those areas.
The application process for middle schools remains an open question, as admission processes will be decided by district superintendents and will therefore vary across the city.
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