Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today he is calling a special legislative session on Wednesday at 1 p.m. for lawmakers to finally reach a deal on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s control of city schools.
The legislative session for New York’s Senate and Assembly ended late last Wednesday without a deal on mayoral control. The provision expires June 30 at midnight, giving lawmakers a tight deadline to settle their differences and come to an agreement.
Last week, lawmakers could not find common ground, as Senate Republicans pushed for concessions to the charter school sector — considered a “non-starter” for Assembly leader Carl Heastie.
According to Cuomo’s proclamation, the special session will convene solely for the purpose of considering legislation that extends “mayoral control of the city school district of the city of New York for an additional year” and “such other subjects as I may recommend.” It is unclear what other subjects Cuomo might bring up during the session, or if the one-year extension might be discussed in tandem with other provisions previously raised during the mayoral control discussion, such as lifting the city’s charter school cap or extending local taxes due to expire soon.
If a mayoral control extension fails to pass by the June 30 deadline, the city will then need to resurrect its Board of Education, composed of five members selected by each of the borough presidents and two by the mayor. The board would be responsible for selecting a new chancellor or reinstating Chancellor Carmen Fariña.