Thread by @elizashapiro

Richard Carranza says he is constantly hearing the argument that school integration = lower academic standards. “I will call it out as racist every time” he says. “If you don’t want me to call you on it, don’t say it”

Corey Johnson asks a crucial question - what happens when the city runs out of districts that say they want to integrate their schools? It seems like we are quickly reaching that moment. Carranza says this is where “the rubber meets the road” but offers no specifics

Carranza says people are defending the specialized high school exam “as if it were a birthright.” Johnson asks the obvious next question: what happens if Albany doesn’t eliminate the test? No specifics.

Here’s how Carranza is framing the debate: either we believe black and Hispanic students are simply incapable of passing the exam, or there’s something wrong with the system.

So here’s where the rubber actually meets the road - gifted and talented. Carranza reaffirms that he does not believe G+T admissions should be dictated by a single test. If you guys thought the SHSAT fight was intense, just wait for the battle over gifted education.

But! Carmen Farina was also not a fan of gifted and talented. This is a third rail that the mayor - everyone’s boss - has shown pretty much no interest in taking on.

This hearing is showing how hard it is going to be for Carranza to defend the SHSAT plan as his only integration plan if he hasn’t touched screens, G+T, district preferences, etc. Trickier to argue that it’s about the system, not just these 8 schools