Res. No. 548
Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to introduce and pass, and the Governor to sign, legislation to amend Education Law to grant the Council the authority to designate one seat on the Panel for Educational Policy, and giving Community Education Councils more oversight over Department of Education hiring decisions made within their district
By Council Members Dinowitz and Morano
Whereas, The Panel for Educational Policy (“the PEP”), formerly known as the Board of Education of the New York City (“NYC” or “City”) School District, is established pursuant to New York State (“NYS” or “State”) Education Law; and
Whereas, The PEP is the governance structure of the NYC Department of Education (DOE), responsible for “approv[ing] proposals for all school closures or significant changes in school utilization including the phase-out, grade reconfiguration, re-siting, or co-location of schools”; and
Whereas, The PEP also “approve[s] any contract awarded by [DOE] or the community districts” that “was let by a procurement method other than competitive sealed bidding… including but not limited to competitive sealed proposals, or sole source contracts,” that “provides for technical, consultant, or personal services,” or “the value of such contract exceeds… one million dollars”; and
Whereas, The PEP currently consists of 24 voting members, 13 appointed by the Mayor, 5 appointed by the borough presidents (one per borough), 5 elected by the presidents of the Community Education Councils (CECs) (one representing each borough) and one independent member who serves as chair of the PEP and is also selected by the Mayor; and
Whereas, CECs, which are established under Education Law, are granted no executive or administrative powers or functions, and their role with respect to district leadership is limited to forwarding to the DOE Chancellor a slate of finalist candidates from which the Chancellor selects the community superintendent, submitting an annual evaluation of the superintendent to the Chancellor, and consulting on the superintendent’s selection; and
Whereas, A community superintendent, under the Education Law, exercises substantial authority within a district, including the appointment and evaluation of principals, the approval of school-based budgets, and the oversight of instruction, while the CEC that the superintendent serves has only a limited and advisory role in the superintendent’s selection and retention; and
Whereas, Mayoral control of DOE, a model under which the Chancellor is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Mayor and which gives the Mayor the power to appoint a majority of the PEP, was established by Chapter 91 of the Laws of 2002 and most recently extended for two years by the Fiscal 2027 NYS budget, enacted in May 2026; and
Whereas, In its 2024 report on mayoral control, the State Education Department documented public concern about the concentration of authority in the Mayor and the limited voice of other stakeholders in school governance; and
Whereas, The City Council (“the Council”), which is the legislative body of NYC, adopts the budget that funds DOE and conducts oversight of City agencies, yet has no seat on the board that governs the City’s largest agency, and the communities served by individual school districts have only an advisory role in the leadership decisions that most directly affect them; and
Whereas, Granting the Council a designated seat on the PEP, and giving CECs a stronger role in the leadership decisions within their districts, would introduce a measure of legislative and community accountability into the largest public school system in the United States, which serves more than 900,000 students enrolled in nearly 1,600 schools across the five boroughs; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Legislature to introduce and pass, and the Governor to sign, legislation to amend Education Law to grant the Council the authority to designate one seat on the Panel for Educational Policy, and giving Community Education Councils more oversight over Department of Education hiring decisions made within their district.
CGR
LS #22672
6/29/2026 2:23 PM