Parents, Teachers' Union Sue Department of Education

The NY Times reports, "A parent council in Manhattan and the city’s teachers’ union sued the Department of Education on Monday, contending that the department had not adequately consulted with the council in deciding which schools to close and in altering school boundaries." While the community education councils—which include parents of students—are supposed to be have power over school zoning, District 2's council (representing the East Side and Lower Manhattan; there are 32 districts total) contends that the DOE has been unresponsive to their concerns. Council president Rebecca Daniels tells the Times, "We were trying very hard and we just weren’t getting the kind of communication we needed. The reporting to parents and hearing their feedback was just not happening." She blames mayoral control for squeezing parents out of the equation—and leaving them and their children helpless when schools close. The state is in the process of determining whether to continue mayoral control; a Times editorial backed continuing mayoral control of schools, but noted, "Some fine-tuning aimed at giving parents and communities more access is in order."