This April, close to 90% of the more than 800 schools that applied for money to lower class sizes found out that they would receive some or all of the funding they sought. It was a milestone in our yearslong fight to make smaller class sizes a reality in every school.

Since the law took effect in 2022, the UFT has been met at every turn by school officials and others who said it was impossible. But UFT members never gave up and never stopped organizing to claim what they and their students deserve.

After the DOE mismanaged the distribution of class size funds to schools last year, a UFT member had the idea that schools with the space should be asked to develop plans and apply for the money they needed. We pushed and pushed the Department of Education until it adopted the new approach. Even then, many principals were hesitant, but school chapter leaders met with school and parent leaders to encourage them to apply.

With money now flowing to schools that can use it, we will easily meet the law’s requirement that 60% of classrooms in the 2025–26 school year be within the new limits. But we cannot rest.

The next two years — when the compliance rate must reach 80% and then 100% — will be the most challenging. The focus must turn to construction. The city needs to build more capacity in schools that don’t have the space. That requires fully funding the capital plan and aligning it to address these needs.