Committee on Education

Good afternoon and welcome to today's New York City Council vote for Committee on Education. At this time, during today's vote, no one may approach the dais. Please silence any electronic devices you may have. Chair, you may begin. Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Councilmember Eric Dinowitz, Chair of the Committee on Education. Welcome and thank you to my colleagues who are present: Councilmember Zhuang, De La Rosa, Schulman, Brewer, Lewis, Narcisse, Wong, and Krishnan.

Today the committee is— and on Zoom we have Councilmember Lee.

Today the committee is voting on proposed introduction number 684A sponsored by Councilmember Zhuang, a local law in relation to requiring a study on how language access needs and geographic location affect access to early elementary gifted and talented programs. Before enrolling a child in kindergarten, families must know that early elementary gifted and talented programs exist, understand how a child may be considered, and navigate application deadlines, often in a second or third language.

Whether a family gets through those steps should not depend on the language spoken at home or the neighborhoods they live in. Yet today, the city cannot tell us whether it does. This bill seeks to change that. It requires the Mayor's Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education, working with the Department of Education and community-based early childhood providers, to study how language access needs and geography affect eligibility, nomination, and enrollment in early elementary gifted and talented programs for kindergarten through 3rd grade.

The study has 4 components: an evaluation of the barriers families with limited English proficiency face at each step, from first hearing about these programs to enrollment; a review of the translation, interpretation, and outreach the city currently conducts; a breakdown of disparities by language group, borough, community district, and community school district; and recommendations aimed at multilingual households and underserved areas.

If passed, the findings must be publicly posted within a year. Recognizing and supporting the diverse learning needs of our children is critical to ensuring a thriving and successful school system. Others may disagree about the importance or future of these programs, but every family deserves an equal opportunity to understand and navigate the current process. Access to an existing public school program should not depend on family zip code or how well a parent speaks English.

This bill will give the city the information it needs to make that happen, and I'm proud to support it as a co-sponsor. I will now turn it to Councilmember Zhuang for comments about her bill.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you to be the co-sponsor of the bill. Intro 684. Today we are asking— I'm asking our colleagues to support our children and families across New York City. Intro 684 takes an important step toward making sure every child has a fair opportunity to access gifted and talented education programs. As a mom with kids in our city's public schools, I know how important it is for families to have access to those opportunities.

But too many families, like immigrant families, low-income, and minority families, face barriers that can make these opportunities feel out of reach. So Intro 684 helps us better understand those gaps, like how language access, location affects who learn about those programs and who get in them. Passing Intro 684 is critical today for access and equity for all. And better yet, tomorrow we are holding a press conference in front of Department of Education to continue advocating for increased educational access for children, because every child in New York City deserves a fair shot at great education.

Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember Zhuang. And thank you to my staff and the Education Committee staff, Senior Counsel Alejandro Carvajal, Senior Policy Analyst Chloe Rivera, Policy Analyst Katie Salina, as well as Principal Financial Analyst Andrew Lane Lawless and Senior Financial Analyst Grace Amato.

I will now turn to the clerk to call the roll. Thank you. Ben Jacobs, Committee Clerk, Committee on Education. This is the roll call vote for Intro 684A. Chair Janowicz? I vote yes. Councilmember Lewis? Aye on all. Congratulations, Councilmember. Councilmember Brewer. I vote aye. I'm a supporter of G&T, even though that might be a minority view, but I am very supportive, so I vote aye.

Councilmember De La Rosa. Aye. Councilmember Farias. Councilmember Gutierrez. Councilmember Joseph. Councilmember Krishnan. Aye. Councilmember Lee. Aye. Thank you. Councilmember Narcisse. I vote aye. And as a parent going through the system, so Zhuang, colleagues, you did a good job on that because I know I had 4 kids that had to go through the system. Thank you. Councilmember Schulman.

I vote aye, and congratulations to Councilmember Zhuang. Councilmember Juane. I'm proud to vote aye. Councilmember Wong. I vote aye. The vote stands at 10 in the affirmative, none in the negative, and with no abstentions. Thanks. We'll hold the vote open. Thank you. Congratulations, Councilmember. Thank you, Chair. Sorry, Chair, did you get me for attendance? I'm sorry. Yeah, I mentioned you, but I'll mention you again.

Councilmember Lee is still here. Thanks. Bye. Thank you. Congrats, everyone.

Thank you, Ms.— I appreciate it. Continuing the roll call vote for Intro 684A. Councilmember Gutierrez. Aye. Thank you, Chair. And, and we're holding the vote open still. Continuing the roll call vote for Intro 684A. Councilmember Joseph. I vote aye. Thank you. The vote stands at 12 in the affirmative, none in the negative, and no abstentions. Uh, the item's adopted.

There's— they like— I would like to recognize Councilmember Frias for attendance. Thank you, Councilmember Genovitz.

Um, is this roll call vote for our committee as well? The, um, there's no longer— unfortunately, there is no longer quorum. Okay, thank you. All right, thank you.

This hearing is adjourned.