On August 26, Councilmember Brad Lander, along with Councilmembers Carlina Rivera, Ritchie Torres, Inez Barron, Keith Powers, and Antonio Reynoso, announced that they would be introducing a resolution calling on the New York City Department of Education to remove exclusionary admission screens for middle schools in the coming application cycle. Ending this practice permanently has been a long-time goal for Appleseed and our partner IntegrateNYC.

Appleseed’s Nyah Berg spoke at a press conference announcing the resolution: “Limiting access to educational opportunity based on a child’s educational experiences in their first nine years of life is never appropriate, and it is especially egregious during a pandemic.”

Read the press release here.

Read Appleseed’s January 2019 briefing calling for elimination of middle-school screens here.

Read a 2019 letter from the New York City Bar Association here.

Read the report from the School Diversity Advisory Group here.

Support New York Appleseed’s ongoing advocacy to remove middle school screens in order to integrate schools and communities here.

City Council Members introduce resolution to end middle school screens