Resolution calling on the New York State legislature to pass and the Governor to sign, legislation to repeal the Hecht-Calandra Act and allow New York City to implement a holistic admissions process for specialized high schools

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Res. No. 167 ..Title Resolution calling on the New York State legislature to pass and the Governor to sign, legislation to repeal the Hecht-Calandra Act and allow New York City to implement a holistic admissions process for specialized high schools ..Body By Council Members Williams and Louis Whereas, Specialized high schools in New York City (NYC) are widely considered to be some of the most prestigious public schools in the country, and have long been viewed as a ladder into the nation's top universities, according to the New York Times; and Whereas, Just 3% of offers at eight of NYC's specialized high schools went to Black students, and only 6.9% of offers went to Latino students for the 2025-2026 school year; and Whereas, Across all of NYC's public schools, nearly two-thirds of students are Black or Latino; and Whereas, According to NYC Department of Education data, during the last four decades, Black and Latino enrollment at specialized high schools has plummeted; and Whereas, In 1971, state legislators passed the Hecht-Calandra Act, which is the New York State law that requires the primary admissions method for most of NYC's specialized high schools to be solely based on a single standardized exam, the Specialized High School Admissions Tests (SHSAT); and Whereas, Nearly 26,000 eighth graders took the SHSAT for admission into specialized high schools for the 2025-2026 school year and just 10 Black students were admitted this year; and Whereas, The Hecht-Calandra Act also took away the city's power to change admissions standards at the specialized high schools; and Whereas, Various NYC officials and civil rights organizations, such as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, have called for the repeal of the Hecht-Calandra Act to allow the city to implement a more comprehensive admissions process for specialized high schools; and Whereas, The persistently low percentage of Black and Latino students who gain admission to specialized high schools shows that a holistic application process is needed, one that values diversity and individual achievement; and Whereas, One proposed admissions process from the Research Alliance for New York City Schools, is a hybrid model that would include a variety of factors as standards for admission, such as the SHSAT score, 7th-grade GPA, State test scores for Mathematics and English-Language Arts, Attendance, and Class rank or percentile within home middle school; and Whereas, A 2015 New York University study found that awarding admission to specialized high schools based on alternative criteria would not diminish the average achievement of admitted specialized high school students and would improve diversity in enrollment; and Whereas, A 2019 Independent Budget Office analysis found that if the admissions process eliminated the SHSAT and focused on factors such as academic achievement, about 19% of admissions offers would have gone to Black students and 27% would have gone to Latino students; and Whereas, Amending the admissions process for specialized high schools to consider additional academic measures would allow students of all races to receive the known benefits of diverse learning environments which promote cultural understanding, critical thinking skills, and enriched learning; and Whereas, Increased diversity in specialized high schools improves the quality of education for all students and better prepare them to success in an increasingly diverse and dynamic workforce; now, therefore, be it, Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign legislation to repeal the Hecht-Calandra Act and allow New York City implement a holistic admissions process for specialized high schools. KS LS 20229 12/2/2025 1:30 PM

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