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A6440Assembly2017-2018 SessionSame asS3730

Limit Mayor’s School Control

Official title

“Relates to mayoral control of the city school district of the city of New York”

Sponsor David WeprinAD-24+3 co-sponsorsAffects Education
Status
In Assembly Committee
Education
Impact
8/10
Significant
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Education

What's happening

This bill changes the structure of New York City's school board by reducing mayoral appointments and shifting chancellor authority from the mayor to the city board.

Why it matters

  1. Reduces the mayor’s influence. over New York City’s public schools by significantly cutting the number of mayoral appointees on the school board from eight to four, which could lead to more diverse viewpoints and less centralized control.

  2. Empowers other city stakeholders. including the City Council (with new requirements for appointees from higher education, parent organizations, and community education councils) and each borough president—potentially increasing representation of parents, educators, and communities in school governance.

  3. Shifts the balance of accountability. by making the schools chancellor answerable to the city board rather than directly to the mayor, which could change how educational priorities are set and how responsive leadership is to board members and the broader public.

  4. Reflects a broader debate. over who should control urban school systems: it raises questions about the effectiveness of mayoral control versus more distributed, representative governance, especially in terms of transparency, responsiveness, and equity in education policy.

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Who cares

Headline styles

Limit Mayor’s School Control

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
David Weprin

Assembly Member · Assembly District 24

Chair, Insurance

History

  1. Referred to education
  2. Referred to education

Companion bill

The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.

S3730Senate

Limit Mayor’s School Power

In Senate Committee · Education · Sponsor Velmanette Montgomery

Impact 8 · Significant0% to pass

Full text

2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

6440

2017-2018 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

March 7, 2017

Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN, RIVERA, PERRY, MOSLEY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ARROYO, COOK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to mayoral control of the city school district of the city of New York

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 2590-b of the education law, as amended by chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The board of education of the city school district of the city of New York is hereby continued. Such board of education shall consist of thirteen appointed members: one member to be appointed by each borough president of the city of New York; four by the city council, one of whom shall be a representative of a college or university, one of whom shall be a member of parent organizations and one of whom shall be a member of a community district education council; and [eight] four members to be appointed by the mayor of the city of New York. The chancellor shall serve as an ex-officio non-voting member of the city board. The city board shall elect its own chairperson from among its voting members. All thirteen appointed members shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority and shall not be employed in any capacity by the city of New York, or a subdivision thereof, or the city board. No appointed member of the city board shall also be a member, officer, or employee of any public corporation, authority, or commission where the mayor of the city of New York has a majority of the appointments. Each borough president's appointee shall be a resident of the borough for which the borough president appointing him or her was elected and shall be the parent of a child attending a public school within the city school district of the city of New York. Each mayoral appointee shall be a resident of the city and [two] one shall be [parents] a parent of a child attending a

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD07255-01-7

A. 6440 2

public school within the city district. All parent members shall be eligible to continue to serve on the city board for two years following the conclusion of their child's attendance at a public school within the city district. Any vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the appropriate appointing authority within ninety days of such vacancy. Notwithstanding any provision of local law, the members of the board shall not have staff, offices, or vehicles assigned to them or receive compensation for their services, but shall be reimbursed for the actual and necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties.

§ 2. The opening paragraph of section 2590-h of the education law, as amended by chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:

The office of chancellor of the city district is hereby continued. Such chancellor shall serve at the pleasure of and be employed by the [mayor] city board of the city of New York by contract. The length of such contract shall not exceed by more than two years the term of office of the [mayor] city board authorizing such contract. The chancellor shall receive a salary to be fixed by the [mayor] city board within the budgetary allocation therefor. He or she shall exercise all his or her powers and duties in a manner not inconsistent with the city-wide educational policies of the city board. The chancellor shall have the following powers and duties as the superintendent of schools and chief executive officer for the city district, which the chancellor shall exercise to promote an equal educational opportunity for all students in the schools of the city district, promote fiscal and educational equity, increase student achievement and school performance and encourage local school-based innovation, including the power and duty to:

§ 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to subdivision 1 of section 2590-b and the opening paragraph of section 2590-h of the education law made by sections one and two of this act shall not affect the expiration of such provisions and shall be deemed to expire therewith.

Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.