Overcoming a negative influence in NYC Schools

To the editor:

New York City public school parents cast their Community Education Council votes in early May. When New York State ended decentralization of the school system in 2002, granting mayoral control, it phased out local school boards and replaced them with more limited CECs. These remain the forum for parental input in our local school district. 

Since CECs are a vital bridge between families and the department of education, we must ensure they are not subject to undue exclusionary influences.

Each of the 32 Community Education Councils has a 12-member volunteer advisory panel composed of parents of children enrolled in the district (9), as well as residents or business owners appointed by the borough president. Members advocate for parents in monthly, public meetings with district superintendents, in which they review and provide input on school zoning, budgets and policies.

They also play a key role in evaluating the district superintendent.

While CECs cannot hire or fire staff, they can serve as a strong collective voice for parents to influence school policy. They can help hold the department of education accountable and push for meaningful change.

The right-wing national organization Moms for Liberty has been running candidates for school boards across the U.S. under the banner of “parental rights.” In reality, this group, filled with anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, is pushing to censor classroom discussions, erase empathy and inclusion, and censor books in school libraries.

Since 2002, the parental group PLACE NYC has worked to steer public education, through CECs, in a politically conservative direction. Although unaffiliated with Moms for Liberty, PLACE NYC echoes its conservative sensibility.  

While Moms for Liberty has, thus far, made limited overtures in New York City, PLACE NYC is already active and running candidates in Community Education Council races across the city.

PLACE NYC promotes an exclusionary direction for our schools. It has pushed to restrict access to specialized public high schools, such as Bronx Science, to a narrow subset of students while undermining the needs of more than 100,000 students living in shelters and more than 200,000 students with disabilities. Its agenda would defund essential services and dismantle the support systems that many students rely on.

Notably, PLACE NYC has also supported far-right political figures such as Lee Zeldin and George Santos.

Here in the northwest Bronx, many of our elected officials have remained silent, and, in 2023, PLACE NYC-backed candidates won 40 percent of all CEC seats citywide.

The results of the 2025 CEC elections are not available yet, but there is hope our community chose empathy over exclusion and understanding over censorship. Regardless of the outcome, the work of building inclusive, compassionate public schools continues. 

Attend your school’s PA meetings, join CEC meetings — most are virtual — ask the tough questions and hold every elected official accountable. They were elected to serve you.

Let’s make sure our voices are heard, because New York City schools belong to all of us.

Morgan Evers