City Council Education Committee Chair Mark Treyger and Council Speaker Corey Johnson introduced a public health measure today that would update the city’s Administrative Code, raising the minimum per person classroom space to 35 square feet per student from the current 20 square feet for grades 1–12. (Pre-K and kindergarten classes already have a 35-square-foot standard.)

“We are still facing a serious pandemic and there is an increasing possibility that COVID variants will be with us for years to come. To help make sure that public school classrooms remain safe places, we need stricter space limits for all students, not just the city’s youngest,” Council Education Chair Mark Treyger said. “The world has forever changed because of this pandemic and there’s no going back. We need to ensure our city’s building occupancy codes are up to date with modern science and public health data. The city is in receipt of significant federal and state resources to make this phased-in plan a reality.”

NYC Council Finance Chair Daniel Dromm said: "I stand by this bill to cap classroom capacity because it ensures the safety of all students and faculty. It is important for the NYC DOE to prevent viral spread while COVID-19 still exists. The incorporation of a smaller class size will ultimately benefit the future learning and health of all NYC school children. Due to overcrowding in many districts such as mine, this initiative will be challenging but also worthwhile. I look forward to passing this legislation."

UFT President Michael Mulgrew said: “There are many reasons to support smaller classes, and health concerns are the most immediate. Making sure that we are not cramming too many children into each classroom is an important step to reassuring parents that we have learned from this pandemic — that it is not business as usual."

More people in a classroom leads to a higher possibility of viral spread. By limiting class sizes, it will be easier for school ventilation systems to move fresh air through classrooms and other instructional spaces at the minimum recommended rate of 10-15 cubic feet per minute (CFM) per classroom occupant.

New York City public school classrooms vary widely, but, according to Department of Education records, most regular classroom instruction is in rooms ranging from 500 to 750 square feet. Under the new guidelines, the maximum number of students in a 500-square-foot classroom would be 14; in a 750-square-foot room, the total would be 21.

The restrictions would also apply to non-classroom instructional spaces like counseling and pull-out rooms, along with larger areas like art studios, music and assembly rooms.

The legislation would mandate all schools in NYC to be compliant by September 2024, with 33% of schools compliant by the start of the 2022–23 school year and 66% by the start of the 2023-2024 school year. The bill also requires the DOE to provide an annual report to track progress until 100% of city schools meet this new health and safety requirement by the start of the 2024–25 school year.

Read the full text of the legislation »

Intro 2374-2021 has been assigned to the Committee on Education and awaits a hearing.