Int. No. 1550-A

By The Public Advocate (Mr. Williams) and Council Members Torres, Lander, Richards, Cornegy, Kallos, Louis, Levin, Rosenthal, Eugene and Rose

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the establishment of a school diversity advisory group

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Title 21-A of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new chapter 28 to read as follows:

Chapter 28. School Diversity Advisory Group

§ 21-999 School diversity advisory group. a. There shall be a school diversity advisory group to provide recommendations to the department on achieving diverse, integrated schools that offer academic and social benefits for all students. Such advisory group shall review current department policies and engage parents, teachers, students, advocates, other community leaders and local and national experts on school diversity to formulate its recommendations.

b. The school diversity advisory group shall consist of at least 27 members as follows:

1. The mayor or the mayor’s designee;

2. The speaker of the council or the speaker’s designee;

3. Sixteen members appointed by the mayor, as follows: four members shall be teachers or principals employed by the department; two members shall be current students; five members shall be experts in the field of culturally responsive curriculum and pedagogy, restorative justice school discipline policies, teacher education and training, integration or education policy; and five members shall be parents of a child attending a public school within the city school district;

4. Eight members appointed by the speaker of the council, chosen from individuals representing community based organizations whose missions are focused on improving student and school outcomes, multicultural education, diversity or equity and justice; and

5. One member appointed by the public advocate.

c. The parental appointees required by paragraph 3 of subdivision b of this section shall be residents of the city and from different boroughs, and at least one shall be a parent of a child enrolled in an elementary school, at least one shall be a parent of a child enrolled in a middle school and at least one shall be a parent of a child enrolled in a high school.

d. Membership on the advisory group shall not constitute the holding of a public office, and members of the advisory group shall not be required to take or file oaths of office before serving on the advisory group. Each member of the advisory group shall serve without compensation for a term of 12 months, except that each member shall be allowed actual and necessary expenses to be audited in the same manner as other city charges.

e. All members shall be appointed within 90 days after the effective date of this local law. Each member may be reappointed to serve successive terms. No member shall be removed except for cause by the appointing authority. In the event of a vacancy during the term of an appointed member, a successor shall be selected in the same manner as the original appointment. The members shall designate a chair from amongst themselves.

f. The mayor may designate one or more agencies to provide staffing and other administrative support to the advisory group.

g. Commencing on September 1, 2020, the advisory group shall be required to meet no less than quarterly and shall also be required to hold five public hearings annually, one in each of the five boroughs, to solicit public comment on the integration of New York city public schools. The advisory group shall also create a dedicated website to enable on-going solicitation of public feedback.

h. No later than December 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, the advisory group shall prepare a report of findings, annual review of departmental integration efforts and, at the advisory group’s discretion, recommendations to the department. The recommendations shall address areas including, but not limited to:

1. Goals for racial, socio-economic and academic diversity and how the department can best track and publish metrics in achieving such goals;

2. How the department can support schools in diversifying their populations;

3. Professional development of departmental employees;

4. How the department can change its funding formulas for schools to better address inequitable opportunities in schools for programs, staff and facilities;

5. Accessibility and integration of students with disabilities;

6. Pedagogy and curriculum;

7. School climate;

8. Restorative justice and practices;

9. Parent and teacher empowerment;

10. The use of algorithms or other data-driven methodologies in creating policies to increase diversity; and

11. Any other areas the advisory group deems necessary.

i. The report required pursuant to subdivision h of this section shall be submitted to the mayor, the speaker of the council and the public advocate and posted on the reports section of the department’s website. The department shall notify students, parents, teachers and administrators each time such report is posted to the department’s website. The department is required to maintain on the reports section of its website all reports submitted by the advisory group.

j. The department shall be required to add an addendum for reports required in year 2022 and annually thereafter that shall include information on the implementation of recommendations from prior reports. For those recommendations the department chooses to enact, the department in its addendum shall be required to include an implementation timeframe for each recommendation. If a target date will not be met, the department shall include an explanation and identify remedial steps the department will take to achieve the implementation timeframe in subsequent years. 

§ 2. This local law takes effect June 1, 2020.

MMB

LS #1839; LS #2663; LS#8739

9/17/19; 6:36 p.m.