The Panel for Educational Policy of the Department of Education of the City School District of the City of New York, abbreviated as the Panel for Educational Policy and also known as the New York City Board of Education, is the governing body of the

New York City Department of Education The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (or the New York City Public Schools) is t ...

. The members of the board are appointed by the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

and by the five borough presidents.

History

Independent Board (1842–2002)

The New York State legislature established the New York City Board of Education in 1842.

Mayoral Control (2002–present)

On June 30, 2002, Mayor Bloomberg secured authority over the schools from the New York State legislature, which began the era of "mayoral control" over the city schools. The

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

elaborates: On June 30, 2009, the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

declined to renew the mayor's full authority over the school system. In particular, State Senate Democratic leader John Sampson, of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, opposed the extension of mayoral control. The authority reverted for a time to the Board of Education, but mayoral control was restored until 2015 in a vote on August 6, 2009. The actual city agency running the schools remains the New York City Department of Education. On January 29, 2021, two days after the January 27, 2021 panel meeting, Borough President James Oddo pulled Peter Calandrella, the Staten Island Representative to the Panel for Educational Policy, who was appointed to back in 2016, due to the fact that Mr. Calandrella voted against a contract extension for the administration of the controversial City Gifted & Talented exam. The borough president's statement mentioned the removal of Peter Calandrella was "not because of the substance of the vote, but because it went against what he, his staff and Calandrella had agreed on the night before". A letter from the entire panel was sent to Borough President Oddo requesting him to change his decision to remove Peter Calandrella from the PEP, however the removal was scheduled to be conducted on February 9, 2021. On March 9, 2021, it was announced that Borough President Oddo had appointed Jaclyn Tacoronte, a local business owner, to replace Peter Calandrella.

Members

There are 15 members of the panel. Each of the five borough presidents appoints one member, and the remaining eight are appointed by the mayor. The chancellor is an ex-officio on the panel and with no voting power along with the student representatives on the panel.

Voting Members

* April Chapman (appointed by

Eric Adams Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and retired police captain serving as the 110th mayor of New York City since January 1, 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York C ...

, Brooklyn Borough president) * Deborah Dillingham (appointed by

Melinda Katz Melinda R. Katz (born August 29, 1965) is an American attorney and politician from New York City, serving as District Attorney of Queens since January 1, 2020. A Democrat, she previously served as the Queens Borough President. Katz was also a N ...

, Queens Borough president) *Eric C. Henry ( Mayoral Appointee) *Gary Linnen ( Mayoral Appointee) *Geneal Chacon (appointed by

Rubén Díaz Jr. Rubén Díaz Jr. (born April 26, 1973) is an American politician who served as the 13th borough president of The Bronx in New York City from 2009 to 2021. He was elected in April 2009 and reelected in 2013 and 2017. He previously served in the ...

, Bronx Borough president) * Isaac Carmignani ( Mayoral Appointee) *Jaclyn Tacoronte (appointed by

James Oddo James Steven Oddo (born January 12, 1966) is an American attorney and politician who served as the Borough President of Staten Island from 2014 to 2021. Oddo had previously served as a member of the New York City Council, representing the 50th d ...

, Staten Island Borough president) * Dr. Kaliris Salas-Ramirez (appointed by

Mark Levine Mark Andrew LeVine is an American historian, musician, writer, and professor. He is a professor of history at the University of California, Irvine. Education LeVine received his B.A. in comparative religion and biblical studies from Hunter ...

, Manhattan Borough president) * Kathy Park Price ( Mayoral Appointee) *Lori Podvesker, V''ice Chair'' ( Mayoral Appointee) * Natalie Green Giles ( Mayoral Appointee) * Shannon R Waite ( Mayoral Appointee) * Thomas Sheppard (CEC Presidents’ Representative) *Vanessa Leung, ''Chair'' ( Mayoral Appointee)

Non-Voting Members

David C. Banks David C. Banks (born August 5, 1959) is an American attorney and educator who is currently serving as the 31st New York City Schools Chancellor, New York City Schools chancellor in the administration of Mayor Eric Adams. Early life and educati ...

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

* Marina Nasef, Student Member (appointed April 2021) * Reana Akthar, Student Member (appointed April 2021)

Analysis and criticism

In 2011, Panel for Educational Policy member Patrick Sullivan (who was appointed by then Manhattan Borough President

Scott Stringer Scott M. Stringer (born April 29, 1960) is an American politician who served as the 44th New York City Comptroller. A Democrat, Stringer also previously served as a New York State Assemblyman, and as the 26th borough president of Manhattan. I ...

in 2007) suggested changing the system to have only six mayoral appointees, and that appointees should have fixed terms; additionally, he stated "For us not to have the same role in our kids' education as people who live in the suburbs or Middle America is patronizing."

References

Notes

External links

New York City Board of Education/New York City Department of Education
(Archive) *
Archives in 1998
{{Authority control Public education in New York City New York City Department of Education __FORCETOC__