NYC public schools admissions process shifting from lottery admissions to grade-based

New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks announced major changes to the public school admissions process last week.

News 12 Staff

Sep 29, 2022, 4:26 PM

Updated 736 days ago

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New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks announced major changes to the public school admissions process.
Banks says he's rolling back on many changes the de Blasio administration made that had sparked ongoing protests across the city.
The new policy for high school admissions for screened schools will be based on grades. Schools will admit children in the highest 15% of their school as long as they average above a 90%. This will be followed by three other groups with students receiving lower grades. Everyone in the first group will be admitted before anyone else in the other groups is considered.
This is a big change from the lottery systems and wait lists for which many families criticized the de Blasio administration.
The Department of Education is also promising a clear timeline and schedule for open houses, test dates and admissions deadlines.
The chancellor says there will be three new accelerated-learning high schools coming to South Bronx, southeast Queens and Ocean Hill-Brownsville with priority to kids living in those areas. These are set to open in fall of 2024.
There will be no big changes to the specialized high school admission process as students will still take a special test for that.
The chancellor adds the goal is to fill the education gap that exists in these underserved communities of color.