New Bill Will Expand Gifted & Talented Programs Citywide

Breaking News: State Senator Tony Avella is having a press conference today, Tuesday, July 31st at 1pm at City Hall to announce a new bill to require:

1) an honors class in every grade, in every school with 4 or more classes per grade from K-8 (no admission exam required)

2) at least one Gifted and Talented Program in every school district

Many believe that the SHSAT is the reason why so few Black and Hispanic students gain admission into NYC's highly sought after Specialized High Schools. This conclusion fails to explore the grave disparities in educational quality in districts across NYC. There are 32 school districts in NYC. Most students attending Specialized High Schools come from 10 high-performing districts. However, it is equally important to note that about 10 school districts send almost no children to Specialized High Schools. It is a known fact that high-performing districts tend to service white/asian students. While, low-performing districts tend to service black and hispanic students. Addressing the inconsistencies in educational quality at the K-8 level is a step in the right direction.

A key challenge facing student coming from underperforming school districts is the absence of gifted & talented programs and/or honors classes. Senator Tony Avella's new bill aims to address this very problem. Once every school has an honors class that will challenge students at a higher level, more students will have access to the accelerated material needed to compete on the SHSAT. We encourage you to support this new bill by writing letters and calling your state representatives to express your thoughts. You can also, show up and support this bill today at 1PM! This bill will ensure ALL students have access to a high quality education!