Due to the limitations on class sizes in public schools in New York City, the New York City Department of Education may need to rapidly hire several thousand new teachers before this fall.
According to the education news website Chalkbeat, the Department of Education typically hires 4,000 to 5,000 teachers each year. However, by September of this year, New York City will have to urgently recruit 7,000 to 9,000 teachers to meet the requirements of the reduced class sizes law, which mandates that 60% of classrooms in the city comply with New York State regulations.
Under the new reduced class size regulations, the maximum number of students allowed in K-3 classes is 20; in grades 4-8, it’s 23 students; and for high school classes, the limit is 25 students. All classrooms must meet these standards by September 2028. Currently, less than 50% (46%) of classes are in compliance with the law.
Recruiting teachers requires funding, and approximately 750 schools have submitted funding requests. Michael Mulgrew, President of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in New York City, stated last week that it is expected that nearly 90% of schools submitting requests will receive the necessary funds.
“This will be the first time in history that all these schools will be told, ‘The money will be directly allocated in your budget’,” Mulgrew said in a recent education blog, “Talk Out of School”. “Hundreds of schools are looking to hire as early as June. So, this will be an interesting dynamic for our education system.”
As the significant demand for education arises, New York City has implemented various incentives to retain teachers, including monetary rewards and early hiring privileges.
Compared to other regions in New York State and the United States, New York City has not faced as severe of a teacher shortage issue historically due to its high teacher salaries. However, positions such as high school math and science teachers, special education teachers, and bilingual teachers have still been experiencing long-term staffing shortages.