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Transparency, Accountability Suffer Under Current Mayoral Control Regime

Testimony to the New York City Council’s Education Committee urging lawmakers to place a greater emphasis on the basic democratic principles of transparency, accountability and shared decision-making as they consider New York City’s school governance system.

“For our schools and our children to be as successful as they can be, parents must be a part of the educational process and the core democratic principles of transparency, accountability and public participation in government must be respected,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman.

The New York Civil Liberties Union today submitted testimony to the New York City Council’s Education Committee urging lawmakers to place a greater emphasis on the basic democratic principles of transparency, accountability and shared decision-making as they consider New York City’s school governance system.

“For our schools and our children to be as successful as they can be, parents must be a part of the educational process and the core democratic principles of transparency, accountability and public participation in government must be respected,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman.

Download full report(PDF)

In May, the NYCLU released “The Price of Power: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Under Mayoral Control of New York City’s Schools,” a report that documents the NYCLU’s experiences working on civil rights and civil liberties matters in the schools over the past seven years, and draws lessons from those experiences to recommend improvements to the mayoral control system.

Though the NYCLU does not take a position on who appoints a majority of the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) or the chancellor, it is clear that a school system without sunlight or oversight cannot properly serve its students, parents and teachers. As such, the NYCLU recommends a series of reforms applicable to any form of school governance:

  • Clearly delineate the position of the Department of Education (DOE) within the existing structure of city government. The DOE cannot continue to act as its own autonomous agency, even if mayoral control is extended by the State Legislature.
  • Increase public oversight by an empowered PEP. The PEP must have meaningful authority to ratify or reject major DOE policy proposals.
  • Bring school safety policies in line with education policy. The New York State Education Department and the DOE must be granted clear authority to investigate and oversee all school safety practices, including the activities of NYPD personnel in city schools.
  • Strengthen the parental voice in policymaking. Community Education Councils must be given responsibilities and authority that ensure parental involvement in the setting of school education policies.
  • Institute practices to allow for public engagement in the decisionmaking process. The DOE must abide by basic requirements of open government in the policymaking process. All Chancellor’s Regulations must be subject to a public comment period. The PEP must also open its policymaking and adjudication process to the public.
  • Mandate transparency of data. The DOE must end its practice of withholding from the public raw data on student performance, student safety and the education budget, and the DOE must meet its statutory obligation to provide the public with access to records.
  • Create a DOE inspector general. In order to promote the integrity and effectiveness of the DOE, the State Legislature should create an Office of Inspector General within the DOE to conduct independent audits and investigations into DOE practices. The inspector general will investigate systemic problems that impact the educational environment.
  • Allow the law to sunset again in seven years. The debate over the appropriate school governance structure for New York City has led to passionate discussions among policymakers and the public. The State Legislature should ensure that whichever system it chooses, such a system expires in seven years, thus allowing for a continuous public debate.
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