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New York City students with a passion for STEM 鈥� and an interest in artificial intelligence 鈥� may soon have a high school dedicated to training 鈥渢he next generation of technology professionals.鈥�

But families in Manhattan鈥檚 District 2 are pushing back against for , a new screened admissions high school that would take the place of the tiny, girls-only Urban Assembly School of Business for Young Women. Next Generation would be the first city public school to focus its curriculum on AI and computer science.

As details of the two proposals emerged over the last month, so have dual tensions: What should fill the space left by Young Women in Business, and how private technology companies and their artificial intelligence products could shape the curriculum at Next Generation.

Much of the opposition to Next Generation has come from families at a middle school also in the Broadway building, Lower Manhattan Community School. Also known as LMC, parents at the school have called on the department for years to expand enrollment from grades 6-8 up to grade 12.

The Panel for Educational Policy, the board that votes on new schools and closures, is expected to consider the proposals for Next Generation and Business for Young Women at its April 29 meeting.

The Education Department released both proposals on March 6, the day after the city鈥檚 eighth graders received their high school acceptance offers. If approved, Next Generation would welcome its first class of ninth graders in the fall. (The plan to close Business for Young Women in June is not contingent on Next Generation鈥檚 approval.)

Despite not having the green light yet, Next Generation has already held three virtual open houses. Its states the school is 鈥渟et to open鈥� in fall 2026, noting that applications would open March 19.

Parents ask: 鈥榃hy this school and why here?鈥�

Manhattan High Schools Superintendent Gary Beidleman introduced the idea for Next Generation Technology High School at a .

Panel for Educational Policy members and families of the three co-located schools at 26 Broadway 鈥� in addition to LMC and Business for Young Women, Richard R. Green High School of Teaching shares the building 鈥� said that meeting was the first time the district school community had been notified of the proposed STEM- and technology-focused screened high school.

At the Feb. 25 announcement, Beidleman said Next Generation grew out of his experience as a summer 2024 , and that Google and OpenAI are part of the planning team for the school. One of the school鈥檚 goals, he said, is to 鈥渆xpand pathways connected to high-growth technology careers鈥� and provide advanced STEM and technology programming for NYC students. Next Generation also plans to offer a summer internship program with Carnegie Mellon University.

Caleb Haraguchi-Combs, founding principal and project director of Next Generation High School, said in an information session that the school would utilize . How much of this AI-powered, AI-focused Google coursework would comprise the curriculum is still in flux, according to the proposal鈥檚 .

The school鈥檚 academic description includes similar or identical language as found on the Google Skills website: Next Generation鈥檚 鈥渟pecial access to technology industry mentors,鈥� 鈥渢echnology certifications,鈥� and 鈥渃urriculum that adapts to the dynamic changes in the technology field鈥� are offerings advertised on the homepage of the Google Skills site.

Officials and families question new school proposal process

The community and Panel for Educational Policy members have asked questions about the fast proposal process, speaking to uncertainty around admissions for the coming school year.

in a letter to the Panel for Educational Policy that the proposal seemingly came out of nowhere, and families were not provided adequate engagement opportunities before its release. Panel Chair Greg Faulkner said he has received hundreds of similar letters from parents since the community learned of the incoming proposal in late February.

High school offers were released March 5, ahead of the panel鈥檚 vote and months before the proposed school would open. It remains unclear how the Education Department would handle screening requirements 鈥� such as interviews or assessments 鈥� after the main admissions cycle has concluded. The Office of District Planning did not respond to questions about how enrollment would work for this fall.

of the school, created by the Next Generation鈥檚 founding principal and program director on March 8, had under 100 signatures at the time of publishing.

A public hearing is scheduled for April 14, two weeks before the panel鈥檚 vote.

鈥淚 would love more transparency around why the department chooses certain schools to go in certain places,鈥� said Sarah Calderon, a parent at Lower Manhattan Community School. 鈥淲hen we asked the superintendent, 鈥榃hy this school and why here?鈥� he said he had no data on district demand.鈥�

Beidelman told parents at the Feb. 25 District 2 meeting that expanding Lower Manhattan Community 鈥渨as not an idea that was on the table.鈥�

The Education Department receives many proposals each year, including some from outside New York City, said Sean Rux of the Office of New School Development.

鈥淭his was the proposal that spoke to us,鈥� Rux said.

Families push to expand Lower Manhattan Community School

The plan to close the underenrolled Business for Young Women school has been percolating for a few years 鈥� with just 91 students this year, it鈥檚 the smallest district high school in the city, said Education Department officials.

Families at Lower Manhattan Community School say they have pushed for years to expand into a 6鈥�12 model, and would like to move into the space used by Business for Young Women, if closed.

鈥淎 proposal to expand LMC could potentially open up sixth grade admissions to applicants citywide, but we have not been given the opportunity to even submit a proposal,鈥� said Anne Hager, a parent of a sixth grader at Lower Manhattan School.

At a PTA meeting with Education Department staff on Wednesday, LMC鈥檚 Student Leadership Team presented its case to expand the school instead of opening Next Generation.

A new 6-12 would eliminate the need for LMC students to go through a second, onerous application process, something that students with disabilities would especially benefit from, they said. The presentation also cited Department of Education data from 2024 that showed 6-12 schools have nearly three times higher demand than their 6-8 middle school counterparts.

compared with citywide averages.

The department鈥檚 proposal focuses largely on space at the Broadway campus, estimating that Next Generation would serve roughly 450 students by its fourth year. All three schools can comfortably co-locate, according to the proposal, though its capacity calculations do not allot for significant expansion for either Richard R. Green High School or LMC.

Debate over AI timing and oversight

Next Generation鈥檚 proposal arrives amid over artificial intelligence in schools.

The school initially marketed itself in information sessions and on social media as an 鈥淎I school,鈥� though DOE officials later clarified that students would learn about artificial intelligence rather than be taught by it.

鈥淪tudents need to be creators, not consumers, of technology,鈥� Beidleman said at the Feb. 25 meeting. 鈥淟essons learned from the past show us that new tech in place creates an opportunity.鈥�

Some parents have argued that broad use of an AI platform in public schools should not be allowed before comprehensive guidelines have been released by the city.

Greg Faulkner, who chairs the Panel for Educational Policy, said he first learned of the proposal after receiving Next Generation鈥檚 last month. Since then, the panel has received hundreds of letters from parents opposing the plan and raising concerns about the lack of community engagement so far.

鈥淚 have two major hesitations with this: We don鈥檛 know what kind of AI involvement there will be. The development team has not provided a playbook for how that will look,鈥� Faulkner said. 鈥淎nd in reading the response letters from District 2 parents, I see that proper engagement and process was not done.鈥�

At a District 2 town hall on March 5, Chancellor Kamar Samuels said the Education Department expects to release AI guidance in the coming weeks and will provide a 45-day window for community feedback once it鈥檚 published.

Five Community Education Councils have passed resolutions calling for a two-year moratorium on artificial intelligence use in schools. But calls for broad AI guidelines implemented at the city level are nothing new; of an AI-powered reading program in 2024 after former Comptroller Brad Lander called for a citywide playbook.

鈥淚 think the question of teacher capacity and teacher shortages, the research on kids and AI, is still nascent, and the DOE鈥檚 lack of its own AI policy leads me to question the timing of any AI school,鈥� said Calderon, the parent at Lower Manhattan Community.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at .听

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