- “They have made a priority of educational pathways as their route to success and they have thrown everything they have into that,” Banks told the outlet. “I salute that and I support that. I’m not working against them at all. I will do everything I can to be as supportive to the Asian community as I possibly can.”
- The city’s Asian American parents have been at odds with current Chancellor Richard Carranza, who seeks to end the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) with outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio. Under their 2018 proposal, Asian American students – who make up the majority of these specialized schools – are estimated to lose about half their seats, according to The New York Times.
- Banks expressed sympathy for Asian American parents who see the plan as an attempt to “obstruct … their American Dream.” He stressed that he understands them but insists “there are ways to have a win-win all the way around.”
- “I don’t think anyone should have to study for five hours a day from the time that they are 5 years old to prepare for one day that you’re going to take an exam to get in,” Banks told the Post, calling the idea “outrageous.” “I would love to help the Asian community to access specialized schools without having to spend every nickel and dime that they raise to prepare their children for that.”
- The new education chief said he and Mayor-Elect Eric Adams are unlikely to interfere with existing admissions policies to specialized high schools. Instead, they will seek to create new schools with different admissions criteria, “so everything doesn’t have to be cut from the same mold.”
- Since 2014, Harvard University has been embroiled in a legal battle in which its admissions process is accused of deliberately discriminating against Asian American applicants as a matter of affirmative action. The Biden administration recently asked the Supreme Court to reject the case.
- Harvard welcomed the administration’s support. Meanwhile, plaintiff Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) said it “regrettably advocates for the continuation of racial classifications and preferences in college admissions.”