Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is eliminating the city’s gifted and talented program, which has been criticized for disproportionately benefitting white and Asian students.
The program will be phased out over the course of five years. The program’s admissions exam for four-year-olds, which was administered to students before they entered the school system, will be permanently eliminated, The New York Times reported. (RELATED: Unions Quiet As NYC Poised To Fire 7,800 Unvaxxed Teachers)
Instead, teachers will evaluate NYC students in the third grade to determine which children need higher-level instruction. Those students will at most spend one to two periods per day in gifted classes rather than being placed in entirely separate programs, according to NYT.
The program is composed of 75% white and Asian American students, who represent 25% of the overall school system, NYT reported. (RELATED: NY Governor Thinks People Are Avoiding The COVID Vax Because They Might Get Assaulted On The Subway)
“Pursuing ‘equity’ as the chief goal of policy means, in practical terms, pursuing equality of outcome through mandatory mediocrity,” Ben Shapiro stated on Twitter.
Pursuing “equity” as the chief goal of policy means, in practical terms, pursuing equality of outcome through mandatory mediocrity https://t.co/TqLAtckWNJ
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 8, 2021
Student plaintiffs sued New York City in March, charging that the city’s gifted program exacerbated racial inequalities.
De Blasio is term-limited, and has floated the possibility that he could run for Governor of New York in 2022. The likely next mayor, Eric Adams, is expected to inherit the plan.
“Eric will assess the plan and reserves his right to implement policies based on the needs of students and parents, should he become mayor. Clearly the Department of Education must improve outcomes for children from lower-income areas,” a spokesperson for Eric Adams told CBS.