NYC officials expect huge influx of migrant students to arrive in next couple weeks: source
Big Apple officials are bracing for “thousands and thousands” more migrants to soon arrive in what’s being described as one of the most challenging waves yet — because it will include a massive amount of kids, City Hall sources said Monday.
State and city education leaders gathered virtually Monday to prepare for the expected huge influx of new students, a well-placed source told The Post.
The noon Zoom meeting was attended by state Education Department Commissioner Betty Rosa, New York City School Chancellor David Banks and other officials scrambling to address the issue as the new school year quickly approaches, according to sources.
During the meeting – which was requested by Rosa, according to a source – there was talk about scattering the onslaught of newly arriving migrant families outside of Gotham in upstate New York communities, the source said.
“City Hall has been in touch with the governor’s office about how to disperse some of them across counties,” a source said. “The city became aware this morning of a very large influx — thousands and thousands of additional migrants.
“Thousands and thousands are coming within the next couple of weeks,” the source continued.
Officials on the call noted they’re expecting the next batch of migrants to be “one of the biggest influx” that will include many families with school-age children, which will make the latest arrival a more complicated problem for the city and state, the source said.
“That means that some might come into whatever space we have or some the state might say we need to relocate upstate,” the source said.
A City Hall rep said in a statement, “Today, we convened a meeting with representatives from the New York State Department of Education and Governor Hochul’s office to ensure we are coordinating with school districts across the state as we continue to receive large numbers of asylum seeking families each day.
“Our city has gone and continues to go above and beyond to manage this unprecedented humanitarian crisis, and we remain committed to working with our statewide partners to assist these children and families.”
In a joint statement, NYS Board of Regents Chancellor Lester Young Jr. and Rosa also said the state Education Department is committed to working with and assisting local governments and educational organizations to ensure relocated migrant families – adults and children – have access to education services.
Gov. Kathy Hochul told reporters last week in Albany that Rosa informed her that some school systems “have capacity more than others” for migrant kids.
“And you also want to make sure that there’s, you know, the proper language skills being taught there,” Hochul said. “English as a second language — you need specialized teachers, so not every school is, lends itself to being the best place for students.
“So there are some schools that have capacity, it would make more sense than others,” the governor said.
Hochul noted her budget earmarked historic levels of funding for education across the state to the tune of $34.5 billion for the 2023-24 school year that could be used on new students from across the border.