Bill de Blasio Uses Pandemic to End ‘Discriminatory’ Screening in Schools 19 Dec 2020 New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) is taking advantage of the disarray of the city’s school system caused by the pandemic “crisis” to make changes to how some selective middle and high schools admit students in order to allow more black and Hispanic students entry. The New York Times reported in June that de Blasio views the use of screening criteria such as “attendance, grades, test scores, school work and sometimes interviews and recommendations” for students to be admitted to selective city schools as a tool of “segregation” because many black and Hispanic students do not achieve the level required for admission.