On September 8, 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law a landmark piece of legislation that will lower class sizes in every grade in New York City over the next six years. Parents and educators alike have been advocating for smaller classes for decades, and the passage of this legislation represents a groundbreaking change for our school system.

In response, UFT President Michael Mulgrew issued the following statement: 

"For decades, New York City parents and teachers have been fighting for lower class sizes.  We now have something to celebrate.

Governor Hochul has signed the Legislature’s bill that lowers class sizes across New York City, eventually bringing them much closer to the smaller classes that already exist in the rest of New York State.

Major studies have demonstrated the benefits of lower class sizes, and from the Campaign for Fiscal Equity in the 1990s to repeated litigation and other efforts by the UFT and parent groups like Class Size Matters, we have worked to establish them here.

Thanks to Governor Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate NYC Education Chair Senator John Liu, and Assembly Member Manny De Los Santos, we now have the opportunity to make smaller classes a reality for the children of New York City."