LOWER MANHATTAN, New York (WABC) -- The issue of education has become front-and-center in the race for New York City mayor, as the candidates presented starkly different plans for the future of the city's Gifted and Talented program.

In the nation's largest public school system, 75% of the students are Black or Latino, but in New York's Gifted and Talented programs, 75% of the students are White or Asian.

If elected, Democratic frontrunner Zohran Mamdani has pledged to change that, eliminating those programs for the city's youngest students.

"Zohran knows," said his campaign spokeswoman, "that 5-year-olds should not be subjected to a singular assessment that unfairly separates them right at the beginning of their public-school education."

Mamdani would not open the programs to student

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