Education Council Consortium has drafted a letter requesting a waiver from the Open Meetings Law so that SLTs, DLTs and CCECs may choose to continue virtual meetings.  If you agree with the below letter, please sign on.  This sign-on will be open until 7AM on Wednesday June 30, 2021.  Please share widely.  For any questions please email educationcouncils@gmail.com.

The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224


Dear Governor Cuomo:

We, the undersigned members of Citywide/Community Education Councils, School Leadership Teams, and District Leadership Teams, request a wavier from the Open Meetings Law that requires these bodies to hold in-person public meetings.

Citywide/Community Education Councils (CCECs), School Leadership Teams (SLTs) and District Leadership Teams (DLTs) are part of the New York City public school governance structure intended to enable parents to not only observe important decision making processes at the school and district levels, but also to provide comments and feedback on issues that are important to students and families.  

As permitted under Executive Order 202.1, these bodies have held public meetings remotely since mid-March 2020. Many have found that the number of attendees has greatly increased in remote meetings.  It is not surprising that parents with school-aged children found it much easier to attend meetings from the comfort of their own homes without the need to arrange for child care or transportation. It also should be taken into account that the NYC Department of Education provided free internet-enabled devices to families who needed them, allowing more families access to virtual meetings and engaging in the school governance process.  

Virtual meetings have also eased the burden on parent members of CCECs, SLTs and DLTs, who volunteer their time to serve on these bodies.  For parent members who have children with disabilities, some of whom require specialized care, remote meetings have allowed them to fulfill their duties with more ease. The parents of New York City’s youngest students have found it more accessible to attend, when they no longer require childcare at home in order to do so. Members of the Citywide Councils have also benefited from remote meetings, which eliminate the need for traveling.  For those members who do not own a personal vehicle, traveling by public transportation can often take hours within five boroughs of New York City. Overall, on many levels and for many reasons, parent engagement has increased dramatically with the inclusion of virtual meetings, something we hope you will continue moving forward.

We ask that you issue an Executive Order that exempts these bodies from in-person meetings and gives an option to continue meeting virtually.  The NYC Department of Education has also noticed the increase in the number of parents participating in a variety of meetings and supports this request.  Perhaps there may be a requirement that bodies opting to continue remote meetings conduct some minimum number of meetings in-person.  We believe such an Executive Order will greatly enhance parents’ ability to engage in public schools and allow us to better develop future parent leadership, and are happy to partner with you in crafting a solution that meets the needs of parents across the five boroughs.

Thank you for your consideration.