Andrew Yang on Thursday warned that the lack of any gifted programs in public schools would cause some families to leave New York City, staking a clearer position on what has long been a controversial education issue in New York City.

"We should face the reality that these programs in many cases are what is keeping many families in the city," Yang said during an education panel for mayoral candidates. "I think getting rid of these programs without some kind of real replacement is making some people think that the city might not be right for them and their families."

He later added: "I think getting rid of these programs is a mistake. I think they have a lot of value."

The panel was hosted by Place NYC, an education advocacy group the seeks to increase seats to gifted programs while also expanding their admissions criteria. Given the audience, the event was notable for the absences. Out of a field of 10, Yang was only joined by four of his fellow candidates: Eric Adams, Kathryn Garcia, Ray McGuire, and Loree Sutton.

Yang's comments drew attention in part because all of the mayoral candidates have danced carefully around the issue of gifted programs, with many arguing for reform but few, if any, calling for a complete dismantling of the system. His remarks also gave clear voice to what critics have long said is the city's ulterior motive in cultivating gifted and talented programs—appealing to middle-class white families.

In 2019, an advisory panel appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio recommended that the city eliminate all gifted and screened programs in an effort to remedy segregation in the school system. The city screens more than any other school system in the country, according to the New York Times.

New York City is also one of the few places in the country where four-year-olds are given a single test to determine their entry into sought-after gifted programs.

The students within these programs are disproportionately white and Asian—roughly 70 percent of students even though these groups make up only about 30 percent of the overall public school population. At the same time, only 43 percent of students in G&T programs are poor despite there being 77 percent of students in public schools who live in poverty.

Gifted programs and the selective high schools comprise only a small portion of the one million students in the public school system; in the case of gifted programs, nearly 33,000 take the test but there are only around 3,700 seats.

Still, the issue of selective entrance exams, especially at such a young age, has become a progressive litmus test for the candidates.

Mayor de Blasio announced this month that he would stop schools from administering the test for gifted programs given to 4-year-olds next year, a decision that drew criticism from education activists who said the practice should end immediately. The city’s education board seemed to agree: on Thursday, they voted against renewing a contract with a test provider so as to allow the exam to be held in April.

Many of the candidates, including Yang, have criticized the use of a single test to determine admission to gifted programs or selective high schools, and said that the city needs to expand the criteria as well as the number of selective schools or programs.

However, at Thursday's forum Garcia, who is considered one of the more moderate Democrats, suggested scrapping the test as an entrance requirement. "I don’t believe you should test a four-year old," she said.

Both McGuire and Adams said investments in children need to start earlier, between the ages of infancy to 4-years-old.

McGuire said the city's gifted program "doesn't work today because the kids don't start at the same level."

Similarly, Adams said, "We fail to understand the seeds we are planting is setting people up for failure."