NEW YORK – Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, who represents portions of Brooklyn and Staten Island in the New York State Assembly, released a statement on what she called Mayor de Blasio’s “misguided plan” to shut down gifted and talented programs in the New York City Public Schools.

Her full statement is as follows: “Mayor de Blasio’s decision to shut down gifted and talented programs in our schools is another misguided action by the mayor in his ongoing effort to bring so-called ‘social justice’ to the Department of Justice. Instead of increasing opportunities for our students to succeed, the mayor seems intent on disassembling those programs that work. We’ve already seen the mayor waste $773 million on his failed Renewal Program and his attempts to do away with the current entrance exam for NYC’s highly competitive Specialized High Schools. If he really cared about our students and their future he would be expanding gifted and talented programs in schools throughout the city and giving all children the opportunity to succeed. His ongoing actions reaffirm my vote against mayoral control of our schools and hardens my resolve to fight for a good education for all New Yorkers. It’s time that parents, educators and taxpayers send a strong and clear message to the mayor and the chancellor to stop playing politics and return DOE to the core mission of educating New York’s children.”