FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 3, 2002 PR-179-02 www.nyc.gov |
MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES THAT
U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT HAS RULED IT DOES NOT NEED
TO REVIEW TWO PROVISIONS OF SCHOOL GOVERNANCE LAW
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced that the United States Justice Department has notified New York City that it has determined that two major provisions of the new school governance law are not required to be submitted for preclearance under the Voting Rights Act and are therefore effective immediately.
"I am pleased that the Justice Department has ruled in this fashion and done so quickly," Mayor Bloomberg said. "This historic school governance legislation will allow us to fix a system that has failed too many generations of New York City's children. My administration will do everything in its power to improve the education of our children and I will be accountable for the results."
The two provisions involve:
1. The new structure of the Panel for Educational Policy, which replaces the old 7-member Board of Education-- where the Mayor appointed 2 members and each Borough President appointed one member-- with a new 13-member panel consisting of the Chancellor, 7 additional members appointed by the Mayor, and one parent-member appointed by each of the five Borough Presidents.
2. The new power of the Mayor to appoint the Chancellor (under the old law, the Chancellor was appointed by the Board of Education).
Under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, state and local governments must get "preclearance" prior to implementing any changes affecting voting. The City had taken a conservative approach and submitted these changes for preclearance because of the roles the Board of Education and the Chancellor play in relation to the elected community school boards: the City Board draws the district lines, the Chancellor is authorized to suspend or remove elected members of the community school boards, and the City Board is authorized to hear appeals from such suspensions. However, the Justice Department concluded that these changes "do not affect voting, and, therefore, are not subject to the preclearance requirement."
The Justice Department
is still reviewing a provision of the new law, which provides for
the Chancellor to directly appoint the Superintendents of the Community
School Districts. This provision would replace the old system in which
the Chancellor was required to choose a district superintendent from
candidates recommended by Community School Boards. The Justice Department
has agreed to expedite this review and has stated that by August 19,
2002 it will either make a determination about this provision, or
request any additional information necessary to complete its review.
www.nyc.gov
Contact: | Edward Skyler / Jerry Russo (212) 788-2958 |
Kate O'Brien Ahlers (Corporation Counsel) (212) 788-0400 |