Mayor de Blasio pauses academic criteria for middle schools, eliminates geographic boundaries for high schools

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced major changes to the high school and middle school admissions process at a press conference on Friday.

New York City is pausing all academic criteria for fifth-graders applying to middle school this year and phasing out geographic screens for incoming high school students.

Middle school applications will open the week of Jan. 11. Middle schools at the Department of Education will not use academic records, auditions or other screens or assessments to evaluate or admit students, and will maintain priority for students living in the district.

For middle schools that receive more applications than seats available, a lottery system will be implemented, giving priority to those students within the district.

The high school application and enrollment process will open the week of Jan. 18.

District priorities for high school admissions will be eliminated this year, and all other geographic priorities, like borough residence requirements, will be eliminated next year.

Auditions for specialized high schools will be virtual this year and testing for the specialized high schools will be offered at every public middle school, instead of select ones.

Education officials say the ultimate goal is to make learning easier for the public school system’s 1.1 million students.

The DOE says its focus is to expand diversity to all 32 districts over the next four years.