Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio has long faulted the Bloomberg administration for shutting public-school parents — like himself — out of major policy decisions.
Now, a coalition of parents has sent de Blasio a letter suggesting ways he can give them a greater say in school-related decisions.
The letter, signed by nearly 20 of the 32 Community Education Councils and a few citywide councils, also lists specific policy recommendations.
Some of the recommendations — such as restructuring the networks and involving communities in co-location decisions — reflect policies that de Blasio has floated.
But others — such as reforming the Panel for Educational Policy, halting the use of high-stakes tests, opting the district out of the state’s agreement with data-storage firm inBloom, and letting parents play a “key role” in choosing the next chancellor — go further than what de Blasio has promised.
A de Blasio spokeswoman issued the following statement to the website SchoolBook: “Mayor-elect de Blasio shares many of the same priorities as the councils, including the need to lower the stakes on standardized tests and to consult with parents and the education community to create a more honest and inclusive process when it comes to decisions on co-locations and closures,” she said. “The mayor-elect and his team will review the full list of recommendations. He looks forward to working with C.E.C.s to improve our city’s schools.”
The CECs’ letter is below: