Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani (D.) plans to eliminate the gifted and talented program—which the New York Times calls "a symbol of segregation"—for younger grades in public schools.
In response to a Times questionnaire, Mamdani said the gifted program wouldn’t be offered for kindergartners next fall if he wins the mayor’s race, allowing it to be phased out of first and second grades in subsequent years. Students currently enrolled will be able to continue, and third grade would remain as an entry point into the program.
The Times noted the gifted program has "been widely criticized for exacerbating segregation" by "admitting few Black and Latino students into the classes."
According to the Times, "Mr. Mamdani’s plan would reshape education for some of the youngest children in the nation’s largest school system and could reignite a fraught citywide debate over how — and whether — New York should address inequality in the enrollment of its selective academic programs."
Eliminating the gifted program for young students is just the latest radical proposal from Mamdani. The socialist candidate has already promised to establish universal childcare, create city-run grocery stores, and shift the tax burden toward "whiter neighborhoods."
Mamdani's plans for the gifted program follow in the footsteps of former mayor Bill de Blasio (D.), who likewise planned to phase out the classes. Mayor Eric Adams (D.), however, ditched those plans and expanded the gifted program in 2022.
Since then, math and English proficiency scores for students in grades three through eight have grown, though more than 40 percent still failed this year. The gifted program is also only available to less than 5 percent of kindergartners, with additional openings made available in third grade, according to the Times.
Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo (D.), who’s running as an independent in the mayoral race after losing to Mamdani in June’s Democratic primary, said he’d expand the gifted and talented program.
"Limiting opportunity to less than 5 percent of students is unfair," he said in a statement to the Times. "The real inequity is access — too many Black and Latino students aren’t identified or supported early enough."
Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate for New York City mayor who sits at third in the polls, also said he would expand the gifted program, adding he was worried about poor test scores.
A Mamdani campaign spokeswoman, Dora Pekec, argued the socialist’s "agenda for our schools will ensure that every New York City public school student receives a high-quality early education that enables them to be challenged and fulfilled."
"Zohran knows that five year-olds should not be subjected to a singular assessment that unfairly separates them right at the beginning of their public school education," she added.
Mamdani nonetheless plans to keep the controversial tests required for admission into New York City’s eight elite public high schools. He had vowed to abolish those exams while running for New York State Assembly in 2022 as part of his promise to "address the ongoing effects of slavery, racism, colonialism, and discrimination."
The socialist candidate himself benefited from top-tier education. He attended the Bank Street School for Children, a progressive private school on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with tuition reaching roughly $70,000 per year, and later enrolled in the Bronx High School of Science, which describes itself as "one of the most renowned & rigorous high schools in the country."
"As a Bronx Science alum, I’ve seen both the promise and problems of specialized high schools’ students," Mamdani said Thursday.
