LES schools land exemption from city-wide kindergarten rules

by Maura Walz

Lower East Side parents who want to ensure their pre-k students stay in the same school for kindergarten will now be able to do so, though a citywide policy bans schools from giving admissions preference to their own pre-k students.

Parents in Manhattan’s District 1 have been lobbying for the exemption for more than a year. The district’s parent council, elected officials and the Department of Education have hammered out a nearly-final deal, presented to parents at a public meeting last night.

...State Senator Daniel Squadron, who represents the neighborhood, said that the particularities of District 1’s zoning policies also made the exemption important for the neighborhood. Rather than being guaranteed a spot at a zoned school, Lower East Side parents all apply for kindergarten seats.

“The question of where you send your kid to kindergarten is a different question here than it is in other parts of the city,” he said.

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