As the Democratic-Socialists of America (DSA) party gains power across New York City, critics are voicing concern over education policies increasingly reminiscent of communism. A major concern is the DSA's rejection of limited government and competition in favor of expanding free public education — funded by taxes targeting the wealthy — while blocking privatization through charter schools and vouchers.

“DSA-backed policies focus on expanding government programs and providing more resources without creating the conditions that encourage better outcomes,” Jennifer Weber, K-12 Education Policy Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, told Just the News in an interview. Weber said that “Despite spending among the highest amounts per student in the country, academic proficiency remains low, and many struggling schools have remained on accountability lists for more than a decade.”

NYC spends $42,000 on each public school student

On average, the state of New York is projected to spend over $37,000 per-pupil in 2026, and in New York City, upwards of $42,000 per-pupil—numbers that climb steadily each year. By way of comparison, District of Columbia K-12 schools spend $31,629 per student, while Idaho spends the least ($10,247) according to the Education Data Initiative at EducationData.org.

The high spending has not resulted in improved student achievement as might be expected, however. Students in New York City, and across the state, score only average marks on reading and math assessments, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).  

A state law mandating class size caps in NYC Public Schools, meanwhile, has resulted in a costly hiring spree—despite critics saying these measures won’t meaningfully improve academic achievement, which is more strongly linked to quality of instruction rather than class size. 

In the face of already massive education spending and questionable results, New York City mayor and DSA member Zohran Mamdani recently announced an expansion to free public childcare and education for children as young as two and three years old to be launched later this year.

Universal public education needs re-examination, Weber says

The idea of universal public education, according to Weber, “need[s] to be questioned.”

“Rather than allowing families to choose among a variety of providers and educational approaches, such as a voucher or education savings account model, it expands access only to a government-run option,” she said, noting that it “miss[es] an opportunity to empower families” with choice. 

States with school choice such as Florida show improved test scores and graduation rates, and increased college readiness. Additionally, 90% of studies show that public schools that experience competition tend to organically improve as a result.

“Improvement,” Weber told JTN, “comes from rewarding success, encouraging responsibility, and holding institutions accountable for results. If the focus remains on increasing spending without measuring effectiveness, I worry the city will continue investing more while seeing too little improvement.”

Another issue worth noting, is the DSA and its affiliates’ history of promoting critical race theory and intersectionality-based public education instruction, which some critics say reflect anti-Western values.

“With a growing DSA influence,” Weber said, “I would [...] be concerned if schools continue to move away from academics and toward using the curriculum to advance particular political or ideological perspectives.”

Left-wing ideologies at issue

A recent report by education watchdog group Defending Education found numerous ideologically far-left education priorities, including:

• The DSA’s Green New Deal Campaign Committee proposed over $1 trillion in funding to, among other things, redistribute funding to reverse “decades of systemic racism and opportunity gaps for Black and Brown students.”
• The DSA Gender and Sexuality Platform seeks to “allow trans minors to access gender-affirming care without parental consent” and promotes access to free contraception for “all” who want it, without mentioning age limits.
• It affirms its “commitment to trans and queer rights, and to defending democracy against the ascendent far right, and [...] condemns to the strongest possible degree the growing and ongoing movement to eliminate trans people from our society.”
• DSA and its affiliates sponsored an event called “Learning Toward Liberation: Rooting Our Pedagogy of Palestine in Humanity and Justice!” which sought to “bring the truth” about Palestine and instruct about “heroic resistance to Zionism.”

The rise of socialism in America is often credited, in part, to ideological instruction in K-12 and higher education, which teaches that the United States was founded on institutional structures designed to oppress minority groups—rhetoric that experts say is right out of the Marxist playbook.

Weber emphasized: “Schools should teach students HOW to think by exposing them to multiple viewpoints, strong civic and historical knowledge, and evidence-based reasoning....not tell them what to think!”

The Democratic-Socialists of America (DSA) over the past decade have gained a significant foothold in New York City—electing members to the City Council, State Senate and Assembly, and the U.S. House of Representatives, notably Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Redistribution vs. Encouragement to innovate

New York City elected Zohran Mamdani as Mayor last year, and is poised to elect two more DSA members in the November 2026 midterm elections: Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez to New York’s 13th and 7th Districts, respectively.

Weber warns of consequences extending beyond public education should DSA policies spread across the state and nation: “The U.S. became one of the world's most prosperous by creating an environment that encouraged people to build businesses, take risks, innovate, and improve their own circumstances. My concern is that if policy increasingly focuses on redistributing outcomes rather than creating those conditions for success, we risk weakening the incentives that have fueled economic growth and opportunity for generations.”