NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio said New York City will change how its selective middle and high schools admit students in an effort to address concerns the admissions policies discriminate against students of color and worsen segregation in the schools.
The middle schools will not look at grades, test scores or attendance for the coming school year, and city high schools will stop giving priority to applicants in their zones for the next two years. De Blasio said the changes will confront inequities that were exacerbated by the pandemic.
While Black and Latino students make up a majority of the students in New York City schools, they are significantly underrepresented in the selective schools where the changes are being applied.
Among the changes are:
• One-year pause on admissions screens at middle schools
• Eliminate geographic priority over next two years at high schools
• Expand diversity planning to all 32 districts over the next four years
• Open up grant applications to five more districts this year
The changes will apply to the 2021 school year. Students will be able to apply to middle school beginning the week of Jan. 11 and high school the week of Jan. 18.
The Department of Education said middle schools will not use academic records, auditions, or other screens or assessments to evaluate or admit students, and will maintain priority for students living in the district.
The DOE said priorities for high school admissions will be permanently eliminated this year, and all other geographic priorities—like borough residence requirements— will be eliminated next year.
For high schools that academically "screen" students for admission, the DOE is strongly encouraging schools to remove or alter their screens in the year ahead, but they may maintain them.
"I think these changes will improve justice and fairness, but they will also make the process simpler and fairer," de Blasio said.
Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza said making the changes "helps us meet this challenging moment when our children need us the most. And by lifting up all children, in all schools we are able to chart a bold path forward."
According to the New York Times, the changes "will not affect admissions at the city's specialized high schools or many of the city's other screened high schools."
Advocates for desegregating schools said the move doesn't go far enough, in part because it doesn't scrap the specialized high school admissions tests that the mayor tried to get rid of but couldn't.
