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Panel for Educational Policy of the Department of Education of the City School District of the City of New York

Former seal of the Board of Education
Board overview
Preceding board	New York City Board of Education
Jurisdiction	New York City
Headquarters	Tweed Courthouse
Parent department	New York City Department of Education
Key document	Bylaws of the Panel
Website	Panel for Educational Policy

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 members of the board are appointed by the mayor, by the five borough presidents and one each elected by the five borough's CEC 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 elaborates:

By chapter 91 of the Laws of 2002, the Education Law was amended so as to radically restructure the governance of the school district of the City of New York. The amendment provided, among other things, that the Mayor of New York was empowered to appoint a Chancellor who would preside over a Board of Education which was to be expanded from 7 to 13 members, the majority of which were also to be appointed by the Mayor of the City of New York. Five Board members are selected by the Borough Presidents. Although that legislation itself made no specific reference to a "Department of Education of the City of New York," the bylaws subsequently adopted by the Board provide that this 13-member body "shall be known as the Panel for Educational Policy," which together with the Chancellor and other school employees is designated as the "Department of Education of the City of New York."

On June 30, 2009, the New York State Senate declined to renew the mayor's full authority over the school system. In particular, State Senate Democratic leader John Sampson, of Brooklyn, 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 23 members of the panel. Each of the five borough presidents appoints one member, every borough's CEC presidents elect one member each, and the remaining thirteen 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

• Aaron Bogad (Staten Island Borough president appointee)
• Alan Ong (Mayoral appointee)
• Alice Ho (Mayoral appointee)
• Amy Fair (Mayoral appointee)
• Anita Garcia (Mayoral appointee)
• Anthony Giordano (Mayoral appointee)
• Dr. Angela Green (Mayoral appointee)
• Ephraim Zakry (Queens CEC Presidents’ representative)
• Geneal Chacon (Bronx Borough president appointee)
• Gladys Ward (Mayoral appointee)
• Gregory Faulkner (Mayoral appointee)
• Jessamyn Lee (Brooklyn CEC Presidents’ representative)
• Dr. Kaliris Salas-Ramirez (Manhattan Borough president appointee)
• Lily Chan (Mayoral appointee)
• Maisha Sapp (Mayoral appointee)
• Marjorie Dienstag (Mayoral appointee)
• Michelle Joseph (Mayoral appointee)
• Naveed Hasan (Manhattan CEC Presidents’ representative)
• Phoebe Sade-Arnold (Mayoral appointee)
• Sheree Gibson (Queens Borough president appointee)
• Tazin Azad (Brooklyn Borough president appointee)
• Thomas Sheppard (Bronx CEC Presidents’ representative)
• Venus Sze-Tsang (Staten Island CEC Presidents' representative)
• Dr. Darling J. Miramey (Mayoral appointee) from Nov 18, 2024

Non-Voting Members

• Melissa Aviles-Ramos, Chancellor
• Brad Lander, NYC Comptroller

Analysis and criticism

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

See also

• Samuel A. Lewis, elected a member in 1868
• History of education in New York City

References

Notes

1. ^ "Bylaws of the Panel for Educational Policy of the Department of Education of the City School District of the City of New York". New York City Department of Education. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
2. "PEP - Panel for Educational Policy". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
3. Education Law § 2590-b(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 members: one member to be appointed by each borough president of the city of New York; seven members to be appointed by the mayor of the city of New York; and the chancellor. The chancellor shall serve as the chairperson of the city board. ..."
4. ^ Nacipucha v. City of New York, 18 Misc 3d 846, 850 (Sup Ct, Bronx County 2008).
5. Ment, David M. (2008). "Guide to the Records of the New York City Board of Education" (PDF). New York City Department of Records. p. 155. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
6. Medina, Jennifer (August 6, 2009). "N.Y. Senate Renews Mayor's Power to Run Schools". The New York Times.
7. "Oddo pulls appointee from education panel after vote on gifted program testing". silive. January 30, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
8. "Oddo names new appointee to NYC education panel". silive. March 9, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
9. "Anthony Giordano". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
10. "PEP Members". New York City Department of Education. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
11. "Aaron Bogad". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
12. "Alan Ong - Panel for Educational Policy Member". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
13. "Alice Ho - Panel for Educational Policy Member". web. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
14. "Amy Fair". web. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
15. "Anita Garcia". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
16. "Anthony Giordano". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
17. "Dr Angela Green - Panel for Educational Policy Member". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
18. "Ephraim Zakry". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
19. "Geneal Chacon - Bronx Representative - PEP Member". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
20. "Gladys Ward - Panel for Educational Policy Member". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
21. "Gregory Faulkner - Panel for Educational Policy Member". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
22. "Jessamyn Lee". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
23. "Kaliris Salas-Ramirez - Panel for Educational Policy Member". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
24. "Lily Chan". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
25. "Maisha Sapp". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
26. "Marjorie Dienstag". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
27. "Michelle Joseph". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
28. "Naveed Hasan". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
29. "Phoebe Sade-Arnold". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
30. "Sheree Gibson". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
31. "Tazin Azad - Panel for Educational Policy Member". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
32. "Thomas Sheppard, Vice Chairperson". web. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
33. "Venus Sze-Tsang". web. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
34. "Bylaws". web. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
35. "Borough President Stringer Announces Appointment to Panel for Educational Policy" (Press release). Scott Stringer. June 22, 2007. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
36. Featherstone, Liza (September 2011), "Report Card: Our Fake School Board", Brooklyn Rail, retrieved September 12, 2011

External links

• New York City Board of Education/New York City Department of Education (Archive)
  • Archives in 1998

• Public education in New York City
• New York City Department of Education