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Pressure grows on Mamdani to reform admissions to NYC specialized high schools
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Oct 26, 2026 at 4:03 p.m. ET
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By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Oct 26, 2026 at 4:03 p.m. ET
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A group of elected officials and community leaders are expected to join the former chancellor under Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday in calling for admissions reform at the city’s specialized high schools, putting further pressure on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to address segregation in the city school system.
Former schools chancellor David Banks and his wife, former First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, will join Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, three borough presidents, and others at Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church for a live taping of his podcast, “The Beacon and the Blueprint.”
Banks said in an interview that he expects the discussion to focus on how Mamdani could quickly reform the admissions process for five of the city's eight specialized high schools.
“He can do it tomorrow, and it can go in effect for the next school year if he were so inclined,” Banks said. “That is, I think, what you're going to hear from speaker after speaker tomorrow.”
State law requires the SHSAT to be the sole determinant of admissions to the top three specialized schools: Stuyvesant, Bronx High School of Science, and Brooklyn Technical High School. The education department currently relies on the test to determine admissions to all specialized schools.
But Mamdani is under growing pressure to take whatever steps he can to address the lack of diversity at the prestigious schools, where only 3.5% of roughly 4,000 specialized high school seats went to Black students last school year.
The discussion on specialized high schools comes as Mamdani faces mounting calls to fulfill his campaign promise to integrate the city’s public school system, which is one of the most segregated in the country.
Last week, parents and students jeered Chancellor Kamar Samuels at a town hall with New York Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, who pressed him to share an integration plan.
The issue has inflamed tensions between Mamdani and some Black parents, who say the mayor has a racial blind spot when it comes to the concerns of Black New Yorkers.
While they represent a small corner of the city’s public schools, the coveted specialized high schools have become a microcosm of segregation in the broader system.
Last year, Stuyvesant High School admitted only three Black students. The statistic reflects a pattern of declining Black and Hispanic student enrollment in the city’s elite public high schools over the past 40 years, according to a New York Times analysis.
Asian students received 56.5% of offers to the specialized schools last school year.
“We feel a great deal of moral urgency to act,” said Lincoln Restler, a Brooklyn city councilmember who is participating in the event. “The segregation that exists across our entire public school system is unacceptable.”
Restler and Queens City Councilmember Nantasha Williams, also scheduled to speak at the event, recently sent a letter to Mamdani and his schools chancellor, Kamar Samuels, proposing ways to expand admissions criteria at specialized high schools.
“While addressing our specialized high schools doesn't fix the broader problem, it does send a message that we are diversifying our flagship schools,” Restler said.
As an assemblymember, Mamdani, who graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, called for abolishing the single exam that determines admissions at eight specialized high schools in the city. But he reversed his stance during the mayoral campaign.
Mamdani spokesperson Jenna Lyle said he is proud of Chancellor Samuels for speaking directly with families and educators.
"Our focus is on making sure every child in New York City has access to an excellent education. That means doing the forward-looking work to deliver the schools our children deserve,” Lyle said in a statement.
During an interview on WNYC’s "The Brian Lehrer Show," Mamdani said his administration is working on “building blocks” of a plan to deliver a high-quality education.
Tagged
Politics
education
new york city
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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