Gifted and Talented Programs

Fox News reports that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani intends to end kindergarten admission to the city’s Gifted and Talented program and delay entry until third grade, a structural change that critics say would significantly weaken accelerated learning in the nation’s largest school district. The plan, not yet formalized in detailed regulations, is drawing sharp opposition from Defending Education, a national watchdog that previously helped defeat a court challenge seeking to scrap New York’s gifted programs on discrimination grounds. Legal fellow Sarah Parshall Perry argues the existing program already complies with state law and equal‑protection requirements and warns that shutting down early gifted tracks will especially harm high‑achieving children from low‑income families who lack access to private enrichment. Senior director Paul Runko says years of litigation kept race‑based admissions changes at bay, but that those gains could now be undone administratively if City Hall eliminates early gifted seats rather than expanding opportunities for struggling students. The fight slots directly into a broader national battle over whether selective K‑12 programs perpetuate inequity or offer a rare ladder up for poor and minority students, and whether new progressive administrations will use equity language to curb or reconfigure gifted education.