There will be fewer seats in popular specialty programs and schools.
The number of students in popular classes like Bilingual instruction, Advanced Placement, Integrated Co-teaching (ICT), Gifted & Talented classes will be reduced. Likewise for the specialized high schools and audition-based performing arts schools. For example, a high school offering AP classes with 34 students admitted would need to cap students to 25, effectively excluding 9 students from this accelerated education opportunity. In this example, if a school does not have space to create an extra class and hire an AP teacher, these 9 students will have to seek similar opportunities at another school, join general education classes, or may leave public school altogether in favor of charter or private schools. A Specialized High School such as Bronx Science would likely need to reduce the number of 9th grade seats offered through the SHSAT by approximately 150-200 seats.
 

Schools will lose classrooms for enrichment classes and support services.
Because many schools do not have the physical space to meet the Law’s requirements, spaces intended for enrichment classes like Art, Music, Lab Science and Physical Education will be appropriated in order to create new general education classrooms. Schools will also be at risk of losing resource rooms for social workers, guidance, teacher training or health care.
 

Co-located 3K and Pre-K classes would be forced to move out of elementary schools.
Another option for schools short on space would be eliminating 3K and Pre-K classes located in an elementary school. This would represent a hardship for many families who currently enroll all their children from Pre-K to 5th grade at the same location.
 

Teaching quality will decline as schools are forced to hire thousands of new teachers very quickly despite a nationwide shortage of qualified teachers.
The State of California attempted a class size reduction initiative in the 1990’s which was later abandoned. There was a widespread decline in teacher quality as a result of the State having to quickly hire thousands of less-qualified teachers. The NYCPS has estimated an additional 10-12,000 teachers will need to be hired to comply with the Law. It is especially difficult to find qualified teachers in Science, Math, bilingual instruction and Special Education. 
 

Districts with lower enrollment will lose tenured, experienced teachers who will be able to transfer to new openings in Districts with higher enrollment.
This is one of the most inequitable features of the Law. With many districts in northeast Queens, south Brooklyn and Staten Island being the most over-enrolled, they will have a high number of new teaching positions. With the transfer system prioritizing more experienced, tenured teachers, many of the best teachers in under-enrolled Districts in the Bronx, northern Manhattan and central Brooklyn will apply to transfer. This will lead to an increase in per student spending in our better-performing Districts and a decrease in per student spending in our neediest Districts.