Lawmakers Rally to Expand NYC’s Gifted Programs Amid Mayoral Race Firestorm

State legislators are urging their peers to advance legislation that would significantly broaden New York City’s gifted and talented programs—a topic that has become a central issue in the mayoral race.

The proposed bill would mandate the city to increase the number of seats available in these programs across all school districts in the five boroughs.

“Children aren’t one-size-fits-all,” said Assembly member William Colton, a Democrat from South Brooklyn, drawing on his 11 years of experience as an elementary school teacher. “From firsthand experience, I know that kids’ needs and talents vary widely, and those differences must be recognized and nurtured from the start.”

Colton, who introduced the bill in January, plans to join fellow lawmakers in a rally Friday afternoon to build support for expanding gifted programming.

State Senator Stephen Chan, a Republican also representing South Brooklyn, echoed this sentiment, stating in a press release, “Every child in New York City deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential, and every family should have access to programs tailored to their child’s abilities.” Chan announced he is introducing his own legislation on the matter.

The debate over gifted education intensified last week when Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani announced he would eliminate the kindergarten-level gifted program, shifting entry to third grade while preserving accelerated instruction from that point forward. In contrast, Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa have both pledged to expand the programs.

The Mamdani campaign has not yet responded to inquiries about the lawmakers’ proposals.

Currently, gifted and talented programs serve only a small portion of NYC students and follow the same curriculum as general classrooms—but at an accelerated pace. Critics argue the programs deepen racial and socioeconomic divides. Nyah Berg, executive director of New York Appleseed—a group advocating for more integrated schools—contends that these programs reflect family privilege more than innate ability, especially at young ages.

Indeed, while white and Asian students make up just 35% of the city’s public school enrollment, they account for roughly 70% of students in gifted classes. Meanwhile, Black and Latino students represent over 60% of total enrollment but are significantly underrepresented in these programs.

Supporters, however, maintain that some children are academically ready to move faster than their peers and that these programs often serve as gateways to the city’s most competitive high schools.

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio had proposed eliminating gifted programs entirely in his final years in office to address segregation, but the Adams administration abandoned that plan—though it did overhaul the admissions process for the youngest students, replacing standardized testing with teacher recommendations.

Colton’s bill calls for admission based on “academic merit” but explicitly excludes standardized tests as a criterion.

Mamdani has argued that kindergartners are too young to be assessed for such programs. “I firmly believe we must provide high-quality public education for every New Yorker,” he said earlier this month, “and that means not separating kindergartners based on assessments that may reflect privilege more than potential.”

Cuomo has promised to expand gifted and talented offerings in every borough, while Sliwa, also in favor of expansion, has criticized Cuomo for not defending the programs when de Blasio moved to dismantle them.