Mayoral Control Hearings
A group of directors from IntegrateNYC's youth spoke at the Mayoral Control hearing in Manhattan on January 18.
Our bold youth emphasized that the Mayors who have been in charge since Mayoral Control began in 2002 have disregarded and dismissed the opinions of public school students who are affected by education inequity. Adults have assumed that low youth participation on advisory panels and boards is due to a lack of interest, but youth have become exhausted from being used as tokens. They are not provided with reasonable accommodations and accessibility to have meaningful participation, and these spaces often offer little protection from bias and harassment.
Many students join advocacy groups and protest to make demands to the Mayor and Chancellor, who have shown that youth opinion has no value. The DOE's Office of Student Voice, which is run by only one adult for over 1 million students, was created due to student protests. However, there is no investment in students having self-determination over their own schools and future.
Mayoral Control is being rolled back in several major cities, and it's time to give students back their schools. The long-term goal is to have increased youth leadership, and students on the CEC and Panel for Educational Policy should have voting power. The representation of students on the Panel for Educational Policy should be increased to four seats.
Since Mayoral control has been enacted in New York City, the opinions of parents, students, and teachers have been continuously disregarded. In 2019, the then Mayor and School Chancellor announced that the City would adopt the majority of the preliminary recommendations made by the School Diversity Advisory Group on policies to advance school diversity and integration. However, the new administration has not shown any political will or recollection about the city's commitment to change for NYC Schools.
IntegrateNYC and our community-coalition are urging NYSED and the State Legislature to make a plan to end Mayoral Control and transition NYC Schools to a Community School Governance model. Control should be given back to communities, and they should be able to select education leaders, plan and create programming that meets the needs of their communities, and ensure communities have a real voice in school decision-making.
A transition to Community School Governance will not happen overnight, but the legislature has the responsibility to put in place a plan that is inclusive and informed by the public. They should convene and fund an independent and community-led School Governance Commission that includes students, parents/caregivers, educators, and other education stakeholders to articulate a transition plan for a fully elected school board for NYCPS by 2026. The number of Mayoral appointees should be reduced by five and replaced with five elected student/parent positions. Student panel members should be given a vote, and the voting membership should be increased to five with adult mentorship by 2026. Public education resources should be provided to educate and inform the public about New York City school governance.