In a move to get NY State and City education officials to abide by a 2007 law that stipulates class sizes must be lowered, parents and education advocates have filed a lawsuit in the Albany State Supreme Court. The advocacy group, Class Size Matters claims that New York City and State school officials have not only ignored the 2007 law but have continually increased class sizes.
Leonie Haimson, the founder of Class Size Matters said; "It's unconscionable that the state and city have flouted the law and are subjecting over 290,000 students to overcrowded classes of 30 students or more." A Class Size Matters study shows that one-third of all New York City classes have over 30 students.
New York City Education Department spokesperson, Michael Aciman is quoted in an article published in the New York Daily News saying, "We are committed to addressing overcrowding across this city and have invested significant resources to increase seat capacity and reduce class sizes."
Mr. Aciman also added, "As a result of our work, average class sizes across the city have decreased from 26.4 students per class in the 2015-2016 school year to 26.1 students per class this year.
The New York Department of Education claims they have invested 6.5 billion dollars to create an additional 46,600 classroom seats since the 2007 law was passed.
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