Shift in the Five Boroughs: Budgets, Bans, and the Future of NYC Classrooms

10 hours ago

2 min read

As New York City moves past the recent midterm elections, new attendance policies, budget changes, and tech limits are changing what school looks like every day across the five boroughs.

Currently, lack of public school funding is a major issue. Over the last decade, the number of K–12 students dropped by 19%, which is a loss of nearly 187,000 kids. Because schools get money based on how many students attend, hundreds of schools are running short on cash. Public schools have also lost thousands of teachers and ran out of federal funding given during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a consequence, many schools are cutting fun classes, after-school programs, and support staff. More than 200 small schools now have fewer than 200 students. Principals are struggling to pay for basic supplies while still trying to follow strict policies meant to keep class sizes small.

Simultaneously, city leaders are trying out new ways to help students show up to school and support their mental health, rather than punishing them. Under new rules, schools are hiring School-Avoidance Liaisons (SAL). These workers will help students who are frequently absent. By figuring out why students stay home and giving them direct support, the program aims to help students feel connected and incentivized to get back into class.

However, inside classrooms, new tech rules are making a lot of students upset. Strict bans on cell phones during class time have frustrated students who are used to staying digitally connected all day. At the same time, city and state rules banning generative AI for grades 2K through 8 are raising bigger questions. Since AI is becoming a normalized aspect of high school and jobs, some education groups warn that this ban will likely spread to high schools. If this ban is passed, it would completely change how older students conduct online research and complete their homework, as AI is becoming more ingrained into modern media every day.

The results of the recent midterm elections will directly shape how these school plans get paid for and enforced. Those leading the state government decide how to hand out Foundation Aid, which is the main state fund for NYC public schools. That money decides whether schools can keep hiring SAL workers or handle city budget cuts. These newly elected lawmakers have the power to pass or block new state laws on public school tech bans and attendance rules.