PA
James Calls for Reforms to Mayoral Control
(New
York, NY) — Public Advocate Letitia James today released sweeping
recommendations on reforming mayoral control of New York City public schools.
The reforms call for enhancing parental and community engagement,
strengthening accountability, and improving the Department of Education’s
(DOE) finances. The report, titled “Our Schools, Our Voices: The Future of
Mayoral Control in New York City,” was created with input from over 300
parents, community members, educators, and other stakeholders who attended a
series of public forums in all five boroughs over the last
year.
“In
every corner of our City, public school parents want a greater role in the
decisions being made about their children’s education,” said Public Advocate
Letitia James. “Mayoral control ensures there is accountability at the very
top, but we must make changes that increase transparency and empower parents
in public schools. I urge our state lawmakers to consider these common sense
reforms before any renewal of mayoral control.”
In
2002, New York State law significantly altered the structure of New York
City’s public school governance from a decentralized system of elected
community school boards and an appointed central Board of Education, to a
system of “mayoral control” in which the mayor holds vested authority over the
City’s school system. Under mayoral control, the mayor has the power to
appoint the chancellor, structure finances, appoint and remove members of the
Panel for Education Policy (PEP) at-will, and set citywide education policies.
The State legislature must authorize a renewal of mayoral control, and any
proposed changes, before the current law sunsets on June 30,
2015.
To
balance the unilateral nature of mayoral control, Public Advocate James
recommends:
·
Restructuring
the PEP to eliminate the mayor’s deciding majority and increase parent and
community engagement ;
·
Requiring
all chancellors to have education backgrounds by eliminating the educational
waiver;
·
Expanding
the Division of Family and Community Engagement to address busing, Individual
Education Plans, and safety issues;
·
Improving
the contracting process by requiring DOE procurement contracts to be
approved by the City Comptroller;
·
Requiring
the DOE to be subject to Procurement Policy Board rules, allowing for greater
transparency and accountability, and ultimately contributing to a more
long-term cost savings’ strategy;
·
Giving
Community Education Councils (CEC) the approval power over co-locations,
school closings, and siting of schools within their
district;
·
Establishing
one additional school district in Staten Island to promote parent
representation in the borough;
·
Ensuring
School Leadership Teams are able to address school-based budgets and ensure
those budgets are aligned with a school’s comprehensive educational plan, in
accordance with state law;
·
Enacting
DOE policy change to address the gap in existing capacity to support and
oversee schools on language access, including providing superintendents and
schools with necessary resources and funding for translation and
interpretation services;
·
Instructing
the city to perform an audit to determine the rate of related service delivery
for students with disabilities, segmented by district, disability and Title I
status.
Read
the full report here: http://on.nyc.gov/1BnhXJf
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