Okay, it's preparing to go live now. My apologies. I'm just waiting to make sure that it actually goes through. While we're all waiting, >> can everyone just write their name? >> Okay, we're live streaming.
I'm just going to put the Randy, did you hear? You're good. It's live and recording. Putting the attendance link in the chat and now we can get started. Okay. So, welcome everyone. Um, I'm
going to have the Spanish interpreters make their announcement. Um, Say nore. Thank you, Carolina. Um, Josephine, can you put the slides up?
>> Um, yes. One second. >> Okay. So, it is 9:38. We're going to call this meeting to order. Um, someone like to make a motion? Motion. Thank you, Vetta. Second.
>> I second. Okay. >> Thank you, Van. >> Okay. So, the attendance form is in the chat. If everyone can just put their district in front of their name. If you have um an issue, you can just write it in the chat and we will rename you.
Um Josephine, can you do attendance? Um, yes. Okay. Sorry, too many things open right now. All right. District one.
District two. District three here. District four here. >> Two is also here. Not sure if you caught it, Josephine. >> Sorry. My bad. My bad. I went off mute. Not quick enough. District two.
>> District five. District six. District 7, District 8, District 9, District 11, District 12, District 14, District 15. here.
>> District 16. District 17. Great morning to everyone. I'm sorry, that was 17, right? District 18. District 20. I am here. District 21. Sorry, that's me. I'm here.
22 district. >> Hi, good morning. I'm here. >> District 23. >> Brain rising. >> District 24. District 25.
>> I'm here. >> District 26. District 286 >> 28. >> Good morning. >> I saw them. >> District 29. >> Uh 31.
>> Good morning. >> Uh 30. I saw Becca. She's Uh, it's D75. >> Good morning. >> Brooklyn High Schools,
>> present. >> Bronx High School, >> present. Morning. >> Manhattan High School, >> present. >> Um, Staten Island High School, >> present.
Okay. Manhattan High School. Is it Erica? >> It's Rosa. Rosa, we don't have you. We have Erica. >> Well, as per Anthony from last meeting and as per legal, I'm the representative. I'm not sure what to
tell you. >> Anthony, please. Advice. Hey, Rosa. Um, we haven't after uh more information uh we haven't received your talented unlimited um minutes yet. So, we're waiting for that
and then you can sit on se back. >> Thank you, Anthony. >> Okay, next slide. Um, I think my Okay, hold on. >> You can go to etiquette or >> hold on. My computer just froze. What
slide do you see? >> Two. We need four. >> Okay, >> Priscilla. >> Hey, good morning everyone. Priscilla Montero, second vice chair. I will go over our CPAC meeting procedures and
standing rules to ensure that our CPAC meetings are run smoothly, fairly, and in compliance with our CPAC bylaws. What happened, >> Joseph? I went back to the first slide.
>> I don't know what just happened. Let me stop sharing. I'm sorry. I don't know what just happened. Priscilla, you could just do a brief summary. >> Yeah. Okay. Let's see. Of course, we would have technical
issues today. It's on two. It's on three. >> You see it moving? Okay, >> we're here now. Okay. >> Okay. >> Alrighty. So, let me just speed through here. Please do not speak until recognized by the chairpersons who will
be assisted by the first and second vice chair. Please limit your comments, questions to two minutes to ensure maximum participation by the greatest number of representatives. Remember that the order of speakers per our bylaws is executive board, voting members, non-
voting members. if there is time and they are recognized by the voting members. Non- voting members if there is time we're recognized by the co-chairs. We want to make sure that we hear from as many people as possible during the course of this meeting. Therefore, there will be times where we do not call on
someone who has just spoken. Please understand that this is an attempt at fairness. All voting members have first seating preference at the table when in person and virtually via Zoom. membership must be clearly identified by displaying the membership identification plaque when in person or by their
district via Zoom. I'm going to skip all of that. You guys should know the rules if you have any questions or concerns. You may contact us at info cpacnycgmail.com. For the purpose of voting on any CPAC business, only the voting members or
designate of your district who is eligible to vote shall be seated at the table andor virtually or in p or in person. For additional information on meeting rules and procedures, please refer to our bylaws which is available upon request or at our website
cpacnyc.com. Please follow the robber's rules of orders and parliamentary authority used to govern unless inconsistent with these bylaws. Are there any questions? >> Okay, back to you Randy.
>> Thank you. Um so like um Priscilla stated to wait to be recognized. We're going to be respectful. We could agree to disagree as long as we're respectful to one another. Please don't unmute yourself. um wait to be called on. Please don't be
disrespectful. And we haven't had the need for infractions. So, we're just going to go to the next slide. I do not know what why that is here. Um, so some announcements
today is just not >> I'm sorry. I don't know what is going on with this. >> It's okay again. >> So, some announcements. The YouTube chat will reopen this year. We We hadn't had it open last year, so it will reopen. And our new live stream coordinator is
Shirley Oen. Shirley was um co-chair for the past uh for three years. uh with me. So, we appreciate her being here and welcome her to this position. Shirley, do you want to say a few words? >> Good morning everyone. No, I'm good.
Thank you. Glad to be in community with all you this morning. >> Thank you. So, um it's the chat is not open actually today. She surely is in uh transit but starting next month the live chat the chat will be open. Um we are
starting something new this year with interpretation. We started with Spanish this month so anyone who is listening can receive um interpretation live in the Spanish room. Um parent teacher conferences are coming up
between this week and next week for high school for middle school D75 and high school. Um middle school applications is um sorry the deadline is December 12th then
um April 15th the middle school office will be released and for high school the deadline is December 3rd and March 5th is the high school offer release. Next slide. We know that many of you have been asking for um resources for support to
access food. So these are um some of the information that was gathered by face. So thank you Faith for um for sharing and supporting our our parents across the city. Next slide. We can share this
um in an email with the links. Um, it's broken down citywide and then all the burrows. So, you can screenshot it if you want or we'll be sharing this with the voting members after our meeting. Next slide.
These are executive board members. Uh, we had our elections October 9th and these are the new members. So, um, we have Becca Staley, the district 30, she is the first vice chair. Priscilla Montero, District 29, second vice chair.
Ashley Malero, recording secretary, district 75. Violetta, oh that's a misprint, is district 21. Violeta Sabovvic is the corresponding secretary. Bronx High School is Remma. Remma, I don't want to butcher your last name. >> Iso is
great. >> I can roll the RS, too. Uh, is the treasurer and our live stream coordinator is Shirley Oen. Next slide. So, our CPAC committees, um, these are the dates and the schedules. Um, an
email was sent out to all the CPAC committee chairs and co-chairs asking to meet. Um, we only received responses for two of the chairs. So, we're going to um try to get together to make sure that we have um accurate information. We want to
make sure that if anyone like to join one of one or more committees, you could join as many as you like. Um the voting members received the link. It's in the questionnaire that you received and the members of the community can join by going to cpacnyc.com
and under the standing um committees you can see the links to view the committees and the link to join. So you can join as many or as few as you're interested in. Next slide. So the minutes were sent out to the voting members. Josephine, can
you make it a little bit bigger? an email was sent out to the voting members that had um the minutes, the resolutions, um the position letter, um all the information was there.
So would like someone like to make a motion to accept the approve the minutes. >> I'll make a motion to approve the minutes. >> Thank you, Vandana. Can I get a second? Would
someone like to second the motion? >> District 31 would like to second the motion. >> Thank you, Melissa. Any objections? Okay, the minutes pass. So, we're a little over time, but we're, you know, we're about there. So, we have
our first presentation by the Office of Student Enrollment. Um I think I saw Nadia. >> Yes. Hi. Thanks for having us. Um our my team is going to share um a slide deck if that's okay.
>> Yeah. I Hi everyone. I just sent a share request. >> You I shared it didn't look at all. Okay. You should have it now. Okay. The floor is yours. Thank you. >> Thank you. Welcome everyone. My name is
Ahmad Chalet. I lead the work on the middle school admissions team. I'm also joined with my colleagues Nadia and Kristen who leads the high school work. >> Hi, good morning everyone. I'm Kristen. I'm excited to be here with you.
>> Let's begin with the um middle and high school admissions timeline. Currently, the middle and high school application is open. The deadline for high school is December 3rd and the deadline for middle school is December 12th. Um, offers are expected to be released
on for high school on March 5th and for middle school April 15th and soon after weight list will open and they should stay open until September 2026. So, the best way to apply is online at myschools.nyc. Whether you're applying
for middle or high school, this is where you'll go to explore all your school options, build and submit your application, and eventually receive your child's offer. For high school applicants, you will also use my schools to register for the Shazat and upload any additional materials.
If you already have an account, you can just log in. But if you don't have an account yet, you families can contact their child's school counselor for a copy of their account creation letter. And and if they can't get in contact with their school staff, they can also reach out to a family welcome center for
assistance. So for purposes of middle and high school admissions, there are two seat groups. On the left, we have students with disabilities and on the right, we have general education seat groups. Families can't choose which C-rg their child is in. This is based on the
child's individualized education program, also known as an IEP. For students to be considered in the SWDC group, they have to be receiving more than 20% of their instructional programming in special education. And just as a note, related services
such as counseling, occupational therapy, speech, and physical therapy do not get factored into the 20% threshold. So you can explore your options on as I mentioned where you submit your application. You also explore your options on my schools.nyc. You use the
search and filter options to find schools based on what matters to to families. So from location to college and career pathways. They can search for specific admissions methods and interest areas. So you could look up information by
typing specific schools into the search bar. You can also type other keywords to find programs that meet your child's needs and interests. You can search by activities such as dance or courses such as computer science. So let's discuss admissions priorities.
So there if there are more applicants to a program than seats available, students will be considered for offers in groups based on that program's admissions priorities. So all applicants in priority group one will be considered first. Then if seats are still available, applicants in priority group
two will be considered next and so on. As an example, a program may have a priority for Queen students. This means that all Queens applicants get offers before any non Queens applicants. So if you're applying with multiples, so what are multiples? Multiples are twins,
triplets applying to the same grade level who share a guardian connected to the same my school's account. So, how do families apply together? Families could choose to submit identical applications for their children so they have the same random number. So, you only need to add
choices to one child's application. And before submitting, my schools will ask if you want to copy those choices to your other child's application. By doing this, your children are connected to the strongest random number generated for your group once the application closes.
So, this is important is when offers might differ. So even with identical applications, students may not always receive the same final offer. This happens when certain program characteristics apply and only one students ranks high enough. So this is for screened audition or language
criteria programs because admissions is based on individual assessment or criteria, different seat groups. So if a student if one of the siblings is in GE and the other is in SWD, they might not receive the same offer. And I just want to highlight that there is no sibling
priority in high school admissions only for middle and elementary. Let's talk about admissions methods. So an admissions method is the way program considers applicants for available seats. So in middle school um ad programs that use the open and
zoned admissions methods do not rank applicants. programs that use screen language criteria and audition. They do rank applicants and they're admitted in and an and order determined by the selection criteria for high school
programs using auditions screened with assessment and language criteria rank applicants and programs using ed screened open and zoned do not rank applicants. Some middle and high school programs require extra work and these have early
deadlines. So, audition programs require you to submit a virtual audition through my schools and your offers based on your score. Screen with assessment programs may require an extra step like submitting an essay or portfolio. Your offer is based on both your grades and your assessment score. For middle
school, some district 21 talent programs require you to register to test and students are admitted based on that score. So families should always make sure to check their my schools for the exact requirements for each program on their application and I'm going to hand it over to my
colleague Kristen. >> Great. Thank you so much Ahmed. Um so we did want to just highlight the chance of offer functionality in my schools. This is only for high school admissions. Um but when eighth graders start their application in my schools um they are
able to see their chance of getting an offer to most of the programs that are available through high school admissions. So they can see it in two places in my schools. What you see right now is on the search tab. So, when you're looking through the my schools directory to find high schools and
programs that are of interest to you, families will see these bar the orange bars uh next to each program that show each child's individualized chance of receiving an offer. So, all of the information that determines how how
offers are given go into this chance of offer. So that includes the information AMED just went over if the student is in GE or S SWD, the admissions methods, any priority structure. All of that is taken into account for each student and they
see their chance of receiving an offer. Three orange bars means they have a high chance of receiving an offer. Um, two orange bars means they have medium and one orange bar means low. We did um release this functionality last year and
it's back again this year and we're really excited and want to make sure all families understand how to predict their chances of getting an offer based on this information. Um we also just wanted to briefly mention the specialized high schools. Um there are nine specialized high schools
in New York City and they have a separate admissions process. So the top eight you see on this list are the testing specialized high schools. For students to be considered for these schools, they need to register and take the specialized high school admissions test or the Shazat. The registration
deadline has passed and yesterday was the school day administration where most eighth graders um in New York City took the test. Um, but there is the ability to submit a late registration if anyone has missed it where they can talk to their current school or a family welcome
center to to figure out what their options are for taking the Shazat. And then there is one audition specialized high school, LaGuardia, and that is also a separate application you need to submit as well as upload your audition files. Um, and then just ending it up by saying
some tips we always give for how to submit a balanced application. Um, there is no limit to the number of programs you can list on either your high school or your middle school applications. And we encourage all families to find 12 or more programs that you really want to attend. Um, and then for high school specifically, make sure you don't only
list low and medium chance programs. We want to make sure you have some programs where you have a high chance of getting an offer. Um, and students who list 12 programs or more on their application are much more likely to receive an offer to one of the programs on their application.
Um, and really we just want to make sure you know that your choices matter. List programs in your order of preference with your top choice as number one. There is really no downside to listing programs this way. You're always considered for your first choice. And um, high schools or middle schools, the receiving schools cannot see the order
you place programs on your application. Um, one last thing to highlight is that there is a my school's event calendar. So, as you are looking at schools you're interested in in my schools, you can find some events that those schools may be hosting, such as open houses, school tours. Um, so definitely pay attention
to the calendar to figure out which schools you want to visit and learn more about. And then we'll just leave it here with um some resources. It's links to all of the um web pages with information about the high school and middle school
admissions process. Um as well as information about our family welcome centers um and then the email addresses for both middle school and high school admissions that anyone who has any questions can email us and our teams will get back to you as soon as we can.
So that is the um our presentation and we're happy to to take some questions. Thank you. Um, if you have questions, can you just please use the raise hand feature on the bottom of your screen? That was an amazing presentation that
nobody has questions for you guys. >> Wonderful. >> Um, so thank you so much. Um, and if anybody can you just put your emails in the chat if anybody should have questions after and thinks about it, they can just send an email. Thank you so much.
Okay, it is 10:03. Oh, we caught up on time. That's good. Um, I saw some of our SCA friends. Oh, when do the Shazette results come out? >> Great. So, um, all high school admissions results come out together in
March. So, um, you would receive information about your high school offer as well as Shazat results and any offers at the same time um, in the beginning of March. >> Thank you so much for that wonderful presentation.
Um, and I see we have Danielle and Julie here from the SCA. >> Hi. Yes, we're we're on. >> Okay, you need um co-host. >> Good morning.
>> Good morning. Okay, you have co-host rights and the floor is yours. >> Okay, great. Um, hi everyone. My name is Julie. I'm part of the school construction authorities external affairs team representing Queens North. Um Danielle, if you want to do a quick
intro. >> Sure. Good morning. Thank you so much for inviting SCA to present this morning. My name is Danielle Chef. I am um with School Construction Authority External Affairs for Queen South. Thank you. >> So I'm going to share my screen and I
can then do the presentation. Uh just let me know if you can see it. We can see it. >> Is everyone able to see it? Okay, great. Okay, so I will get started. So today the presentation that we're going to be
giving is the school construction authorities operations overview. This presentation was given to the CEC's um but you know this is also information um general information about the school construction authority. So, on the agenda today, I'm going to go
over the five-year capital plan overview. Um, going over capacity um and capital eligibility, capital improvement projects, building condition assessment surveys, also known as BCAST, resoa funding, um the CC request form, and
contact information for our agency. So the five-year capital plan um this is from FY2025 to 2029. The total amount of funding is 20.5 billion. Um we have 6.98 billion
allotted for capacity. So that includes new seats such as new buildings or annexes. Um we have 2.28 28 billion allocated for healthy schools and this includes projects such as electrification um gymnasiums
capital improvement. We have 7.54 billion um allocated and that's for projects um on existing buildings making sure that our buildings are um safe and sound. Um we also have mandated programs
um and we are allocated 3.72 billion and that includes things like wraparound insurance and compliance with local laws. So capacity planning this is the seat need process. Every year the New York City public schools and school construction authority we undertake a
comprehensive assessment of current building utilization. Um so thinking about um the seats that are needed, we project future demand for school seats and those are based on things like enrollment trends, birth trends, immigration trends, housing housing
resoning class size compliance um and other demographic factors reducing class size. So for New York City public school strategies, the individual class size implementation plans were reviewed and developed by principles in consultation with school
leadership teams. School plans were jointly reviewed by New York City public schools, UFT, and SCA. Approved school plans receive funding for researches, resources such as teacher staffing, uh, room conversions, and supplies to support additional classrooms. and we
and they work closely with the SCA to identify new sites um and identify sites for new schools and creative ways to expand capacity. For SEA strategies, we work on additions or annexes on existing school campuses if it's possible. Um we
acquire property for new school construction, lease appropriate existing buildings, and we also work on room conversions. So, how does SCA choose locations? We focus on overcrowded areas. Um, so we look for real estate in districts and
subdists with many overcrowded schools. And then we also try to support class size compliance. And so we work with the New York City public schools to identify opportunities to create additional seats in existing buildings. And there is citywide funding for nearly 16,000 seats
to target individual schools. real estate considerations. Um, in terms of identifying real estate, we work with brokers in each of the five burrows to help identify appropriate real estate for school construction, but we also take referrals from community members.
Standalone schools require at least 25,000 square feet of land, property for new schools. Um, larger sites that allow for adequate play space are strongly preferred. Mixed buildings are also considered. Um we need approximately
120,000 square foot condominium units within mixed use buildings with um outdoor play space. In terms of acquisition process, we ask the local community board and community education councils to host presentations of the site and then after environmental
review is concluded, the site is presented to city council for approval. How long do projects take from inception to completion? So for capacity projects um site acquisition actually acquiring the site can take up to 18 months
approximately 18 months depending on regulatory requirements and approvals. Design of the space requires about 12 months. Uh bid and award takes about three months. Peritting construction and expect inspections can take approximately three years depending on
the site. In terms of communication methods, we post construction notices. We have dedicated SCA liaison. Um we present during site selection and we have our yearly CEC presentations. >> What is capital eligibility? So the SCA
is entirely funded with capital dollars. So that means every project we pursue has to comply with the city of New York comproller directive number 10 which is charges to the capital project fund. So that means all funds must be used for long lived assets rather than operating
operating expenses, minor purchases or maintenance. So our project requirements include a minimum of $50,000. It has to provide a permanent enhancement to the facility. um construction work must have a minimum lifespan of 5 years and if it's computer
hardware it must have a minimum lifespan of 3 years. So essentially it needs to be a long-term and permanent addition to the school. Some examples of capitalally eligible projects include new construction, upgrades to HVAC, plumbing or electrical
systems, auditoriums, gyms, libraries, science labs, playgrounds, athletic fields, security cameras, and mobile science carts, desktop, computers, laptops, or smartboards. Um, examples of non- capitalally
eligible projects. So these are things that the SA does not fund. Includes building maintenance. Um so painting, flooring repairs, fixture lease, playground upkeep, broken windows, auditorium chairs, window air conditioning units and water fountains
are not capital eligible. Books, desk chairs, tables, bookshelves, photocopers, um etc. and staffing for and after school programs are also not considered capitalally eligible projects
becoming a capital improvement project. Um so how does a project become cap become a project is um first is division of school facilities reported issues um the building condition assessment survey that is on every school's website um
resoa projects and CC project requests. So some examples of projects that we do are exterior masonry windows parapets flood elimination roof replacement. We also do accessibility projects, playgrounds, auditoriums, and gymnasium
upgrades. So, how long do these projects take from inception to completion? For capital improvement projects um and resoa funded projects, pre-construction, which includes scope design and bid awards, can take approximately 12 months.
Construction also varies depending on the project. It's usually approximately one one year for most playyards and smaller interior projects like bathrooms and room conversions. Approximately two to three years on exterior modifications, athletic fields and accessibility.
Approximately four years or more on electrification projects and um approximately one or two years on larger interior projects which includes things like auditorium or gym upgrades, supplemental cooling. Um, as a caveat, resoa funded projects cannot begin
construction until the school has signed off on scope of work and the SCA has full funding for the work. Um, communication methods for these capital improvement projects include our UFT protocol meetings, our monthly job committee meetings, um, a construction
notice, and twoeek look aheads to principles. Why is my school's project delayed? Um, with construction, there are many times where unforeseen circumstances occur, especially for buildings that are as old as the typical New York City public
school building. And we make sure that we work closely with the school and school officials, that they understand why there are any delays and to make sure that we share timetables and timelines if there are available. Some common challenges that we run into include one working in actively used
school buildings. So all of our projects happen after normal school instructional hours and we closely coordinate with schools around after school programs and other school activities but that can affect our construction schedule. Um other things include unforeseen field
conditions. This is the most common type of delay that we run into. We start construction and then we identify an issue that was not anticipated and sometimes then that requires more extensive design work and even additional permitting which can take time.
Supply chain can also be an issue um since COVID global supply chain issues for construction materials have been rampant and very persistent. In addition, in recent months, the tariff policies from the federal administration have exacerbated the situation. And
lastly, weather can also affect um the school timeline, construction timeline. Certain materials that are used in exterior work are heavily weather dependent and so cannot be used in rain, snow or excessively cold temperatures.
So what is a building condition assessment survey? Um this was what I referred to earlier in terms of what can be used to identify um capital eligible projects. Um, this is an annual visual evaluation of approximately 1,600 New York City public school facilities and
this includes things like schools, athletic fields, many buildings, lease sites, gyms, and more. Um, our consistent methodology ensures reliable data. Our and our inspectors for this receive intensive training and they meet regularly with design professionals.
There's also continuous quality control by SCA team and consultants. So the data drives um the project prioritization, the capital improvement plan um for identifying which schools um are prioritized for this project for these
projects. And so we have different inspection teams which includes mechanical and electrical as well as architectural. Where can you find these published BCAST reports? Um, if you go to the New York City public school website and then you look up your school, if you go to
reports, um, and click on facilities, there's the building condition assessment survey link here. And that will essentially show all of the different, um, components of the school and the condition of it. So, Resoa projects. So, Resoa projects
are capitalally eligible school specific capital improvements or enhancements that are funded by New York City elected officials, generally our city council members and burough presidents. So, what are these projects? Um, schools and elected officials are strongly
encouraged to contact SCA to discuss projects. Schools are strongly encouraged to get cost estimates from SEA before requesting projects and funding from their city council member or burough president. The principal must always approve scope and coordinate
construction. So they should always be a part of the resoa process. So types of projects that are um under resoa projects are typically enhancements to school facilities such as auditorium or gym upgrades, playyard or athletic field upgrades, certain
computer upgrades. They usually don't pay for essential systems like HVAC, plumbing, or electrical upgrades. Project requirements for reso funding include one, they must meet capital eligibility requirements and it must be
fully funded before the scope can begin. If a project is underfunded, then the SCA will work with the elected official for additional funds or work with the school on a reduced scope of work to stay within the budget. In terms of project implementation, all reszoa
projects start with the SCA and smaller projects may be implemented by DSF, division of school facilities depending on the scope and cost and we work with DIIT for technology. The res budget timeline looks like January through March. Um, elected
officials can contact schools to identify potential projects or vice versa. May through June is the city budget negotiations and approvals. July 1st is when the city fiscal year starts. Sometime in the summer, schools are notified of the awards by the sponsor.
And then late fall through early spring, the SCA receives final budget authorization from the office of management and budget, OM. And one month after OM approval, we begin project scope and design process and the schools are contract are contacted by their
project team. So we do annual capital plan presentations to CEC's um because we pro we receive the November amendments. Um so the SCA's annual capital plan presentations provides any changes to the plan through through the amendment
and it highlights the specific projects and funding in each district. Presentations are given after the November amendment to the capital plan and each presentation is customized to individual CC districts and and these presentations are not for reviewing or
discussing individual CC requests or submissions. The CC priority project request. So this happens every year. Um we work with the CC's. They're asked to complete a form identifying priority projects in their districts and these forms are due in mid
January. Um for CC's they should review the capital eligibility guidelines um you know to to make sure that the project meets the thresholds as determined by the New York City controller and enforced by OM. They should review the capital plan
identifying what plan projects already funded in the district. They can identify a program um that you know that's classified through one of our programs. Um and then they should review the projects with the deputy director of facilities for maintenance or repair
items. And lastly, they should consult with principles about projects so that there's agreement on priorities. So um for submissions, they will prioritize five projects. Again, the SCA only does major capital renovations.
anything that's building maintenance or projects that are ineligible, the principles can request repairs from custodians or DSF. Um, and we do our annual capital plan presentations to each each CC. Um, we're actually in the middle of scheduling
them now. Um, and we will provide an overview of any changes to the capital plan and highlight specific projects in their districts. So this is what the CC request form looks like just for you to get a sense of um what we are asking the CC's to
fill out and these are the contact information um of our office obviously you can you know reach out to myself or Danielle um and that's the presentation
so I'm going to stop sharing and Um, >> thank you so much, Julie. Um, so we did receive a question regarding a delayed project. So, um, are there different people to contact? Like, if this is a Queens issue, should they reach out to
someone specific in Queens? >> Yes. I don't think I've seen the question, but um Danielle and I are the Queen's reps, so they can reach out to one of us and depending on district, we will divvy it up. >> Okay. So, um there was one from um
district 28. They have multiple construction projects that remains incomplete for over two years and they've reached out to their assembly member, council member, um and they just want an update on what's happening. So,
who's they can contact you to track what's happening with the project? >> Sure, they can. Um, actually, District 28 would fall into um one of the districts that I represent. Um, so they can contact me directly. I've put my information into the chat already as well as Julie's. Um,
I can provide an update now if you'd like. >> If you have one on that, you have one on that particular project. >> Yeah, definitely. >> So, yeah. So for for Q220 there were two kind of um big projects that were running concurrently. One was
a boiler replacement project and also a COVID ventil or I should say a ventilation project that included replacement of the RTUs or the rooftop units as well as the fire alarm system. Both of those projects which were operating under separate contractors are
in the substantial completion phase. And we have a small punch list items from our architects that we're finalizing. >> Thank you so much. >> I will say that visually there is a field office trailer that is still on
the exterior perimeter of the site which does does definitely give a look of a more pronounced presence there and that is being removed next week from the site. So, and good and bad news, we do have a exterior mod project coming to the
school. So, good news because the building needs it. Bad news because they community probably don't want to see us anymore. >> That is great news. >> Yeah. >> Um, so there's a question in the chat about
the TCUs at district 823. When will it be removed? >> Okay. >> Sure. >> Um, so for district 8, that's not in either Julian's district, but we are happy to circle back with that information of
remov TCU removal plan. At this point, if there are any TCUs that are still in existence in the five burrows, it's because of seat need and there's you need to solve the seat need first before we can remove the TCUs. Um, but we will
look into that. District 8 PS1 123. Is that what you said? I'm sorry, Randy. >> Um, District 8 123 and another one about strobe lights in district 8 333.
If you have the Bronx um person, if you can put their email in the chat. >> Sure, >> that'd be great. Thank you. >> We'll do that. Vanana, District 4. >> Yes, thank you so much. I do have a question. >> Hi, I'm Matana, District 4, President,
Council's President, and a CC member. Can you clarify how the SCA prioritize capital projects between overcrowded districts and schools with urgent infrastructure needs and how often these pri those priorities are revisited?
Sure. If there's a school that has an overcrowding need, then we work with our partners at Department of Education, ODP, to look at finding solutions. Um, first, it would be something that ODP or space planning would look at internally
to see if there was ways um to create new seats within the building. And then next we would start to have levels or rather conversations at superintendent level to discuss possibilities regarding a potential
new addition if space was permitting and if it would be feasible. Um, if that does not allow, if the site does not allow for something like that, then we work at a district level to provide a new building that would increase seats within the district. And then it would
be for Department of Education to decide about reszoning and how to do alleviation u rather alleviating the overutilization of buildings in the nearby area. >> Thank you so much. Thank you.
>> No problem, Reema. Um, I I put my questions in the chat because I actually had a few. Okay. >> The one question I do want to say out loud is the project at Oax 3333, and I guess this is a city-wide question, is
do the HS sites around the city have the strobe lights? because we have uh programs for deaf students and we have deaf teachers and we don't have strobe lights in these programs and like for district 8 I reported it like 2 and 1/2
years ago and we're still waiting and they said SCA is still in the design phase but we're actively in like a safety crisis cuz if something happens that there's no protocol for a a particular teacher to run and go tell
these people in this particular part of the building that there there's an incident happening. So, and again, I don't want to leave it to one person that could be absent. So, when is this project going to be completed? And do the other sites have strobe lights cuz it's not safe?
>> Let me start. I'm sorry cuz being um not familiar with the Bronx, I'm so I apologize for that, but I wanted to confirm with you. Is this the building code that we're talking about? X333. So X333 has an HS program for students
that have um hearing uh disabilities and they do not have strobe lights. They need strobe lights because they can't hear the fire alarm. And so what we were told cuz again I reported this to my elected two and a half years ago and we were told and I just asked DSF for an
update last week and they said that SCA still has this in design phase. My question is, do the ATS programs around the city not have strobe lights? Because what is why is it in design for so long? What is it that we're designing that we haven't done that already?
>> So, for me, I'm I'm not familiar with HS program, which is why I'm trying to look up the building for you while we're on the meeting so I could give you an answer. um when we design I can speak to how we design our new schools which are you know if they they're not specific
with an HES program that's not part of the um I should say that we have hearing impaired structure within our building um in the new buildings. So, I'm trying to see what kind of a building this is. If this
was a building that was did not have this capability and then this program was placed, is that what you're referring to or do we have the address of the school that you're referring to so that I can look it up for you? >> Um, I'll put the address in the chat. I
I don't want to like divert too much time from the agenda, but um if if we could get a response, I'm happy to keep having the conversation in the chat. I'll get the address now. >> Okay. Thank you. Yeah, I'm trying to look it up and X333 doesn't come up as a building code, so that's why I was
asking. >> Okay, Jazelle, we're we're over time, so can we just keep it like really brief? >> Sorry. >> Um, sorry. Um yes, for um going back to to 20Q, um besides those projects, there's also
been a delay in the bathroom uh project and also water fountains. For the water fountains, we were just waiting for the lead testing. Um it's been over a year for the lead testing to just start being able to use those water fountains. Um
and then Fred, um we haven't been able to communicate with anyone that could help us because uh we changed uh council members and so that was funded by Lynn Schulman and we changed to Janiro. So I don't know if there was a
miscommunication there or something in the project um that was lost. >> Sure. Well, if anything I can >> I can answer that question for you. um school construction authority does not manage bathrooms or water fountains. So I would need to refer you to DSF. Um I
know that back in there was fiscal year 24 there were I think six or four water fountains that were funded by the council person and that was managed by DSF. Um, I believe they it was reported in our system that that had been completed, but again, um, I would
encourage you to follow up with DSF as they were spearheading both of those projects for the building. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Okay, last question, Priscilla. >> Hi. Thank you, Randy. Um, this is a question that a lot of our members can
benefit from. This is, uh, pertaining to schools that have campuses. If there's work being done on one school that's on a campus, will it delay the work of another school that's similarly on that campus? I have a school in district 29 that sits on 26 grounds that has a
courtyard that has been sinking for four years and it's really grave and we've been given um dates, but nothing has really happened and it's it's to the point where students have gotten hurt. So, that's one uh one uh issue. Another
is if there are schools that have an 8 uh 93 or 811 in the same building where the construction has not been accommodated in the 811, should the school apply together or should the 811 apply separately? I have another school in my district that has absolutely no
upgrades but the school um not general pop school has gotten the upgrades and they both applied. >> Okay. So I think I think there was a lot of information to try to at one point So I want to go back to your district 29 school. You said it regarding a
courtyard. >> Yes. PSIS 208 has a sinking courtyard. That has been an issue for about three years when since I've been involved and maybe a year before I came on board. >> Okay. And the question for that is
>> when will the work begin? The school has been giving dates and nothing has happened. >> Okay. So there's Would you be considering that as a playground redevelopment there? >> That's not a playground. That's a It's the entryway to the school. It's a courtyard. They do have a playyard, but
that's the actual entry courtyard where the kids do have recess. Yes. >> Okay. Well, I see that there are a couple of different big projects that are in design for that building. um one is a playground, other is exterior masonary work or exterior mod work that
has comes complete with roof parapit flood elimination. So that could be part of it. I don't have the scope at my fingertips. So Priscilla, what I'd like to do is be able to write down that question and do a comprehensive followup for you. >> Great. Okay. I'm also a CC member, so um
love to always thank you for that. Yeah, we'll talk offline, but thank you. Yeah, I just wanted that for the record. >> But just so that we're clear, that is not in district 29. That is in district 26. >> That's a D29 school that sits on D26 grounds. It's one of the unique schools in D29.
>> Okay. So I PSIS 208 is technically on Commonwealth Boulevard, which is geographic district 26. Correct. >> Yes. >> Okay. Just want to make sure I'm looking up the right school for you. >> Yes, that's the right one. >> Okay. Perfect. Perfect. >> Thank you. >> Okay. >> Thank you so much, Danielle and Julie.
Um that was very informative for our parent leaders and for um the public to hear. So thank you so much for that wonderful presentation. And we're going to move on to Road to Better Busing. Um Josephine, can you just share that slide real quick? It's just kind of cute. So
just want to make sure we share it. Um and we have Nia Berg to present. Hi folks. Good morning. Um, I'll let you share the slide and then I also have my own slides so I don't wanna
>> just thought that was really cute for you. I wanted to share that. >> I appreciate it. >> Josephine, you can stop sharing. So, Anna, you have um co-host capabilities. >> Amazing. All right, let me present.
All right. Hi, folks. Um, good morning. Happy to be here and thanks for having me. Um, my name is Nia Berg, pronouns she, her. I'm the executive director at New York Apples Seed. Um, we are a uh advocacy nonprofit organization that
advocates for inclusive, integrated, and equitable schools and communities in New York City and state, though we always say that New York City gives us plenty to work on. Um, and we also facilitate the road to better busing coalition. And so today I'm going to give you just a couple uh a background of the coalition
as well as uh the work that we've done within the past year um and sort of a little bit of an update um as I'm sure you've seen in the news um or in your kids's backpack or within the school all the different information that's coming about school busing in the past since
the school year began. Um so as I said uh we lead uh the road to better busing coalition. We formed this in January of 2025. We wanted to bring together educational justice, uh, disability rights, transit equity advocates, and to
provide recommendations and a a strategy really to improve yellow bus service for New York City students. Um, members of this coalition include Advocates for Children of New York, the Center for Independence of the Disabled New York, Citizens Committee for Children of New York, ourselves, the Coalition for
Asian-American Children's and Families, Parents to Improve School Transportation, Tumone Family Services, and then many, many long sta and several long-standing individual parent activists and folks from the D75 parent community, including Reema, um, who I who's here, and thank you for inviting
me to join us today. Um, we came together because there were many, many problems. In fact, when we came together first and tried to figure out what we were going to solve for, what the problem really was and folks that had
been speaking and parents that had been speaking in to avoid for years and years and years, it really became that we had 99 problems in busing was all of them. Uh it was school buses that were not showing up or were late, no pair of professionals assigned. Uh folks that
breakdown in communication, parents who were talking to OPT that then said to talk to the bus company that then said were directed to then talk to OPT to have someone then maybe hang up on them. Uh no afterchool transportation or Saturday service, lack of AC on the
summer busing. Um the list just went on and on and on. um as many of you I'm sure know. And then it also really came down to this discovery that a majority of our school bus contracts as well have not been updated since 1979. So roughly
over 70% of our school bus contracts have not been updated for and are roughly 46 years old. Um with identifying these problems we came up with a platform. Um we set goals at
that time. Uh goal number one, because this was in January and that legislative session was just starting, um was to urge state leaders to prioritize student transportation reform and uphold that commitment by passing uh Assembly Bill 8440, Senate Bill 1018 into law. And
this legislation would essentially allow for employee protection provisions in a new rebidding process for school bus contracts. Right now, part of the reason why the bus contracts are so old is because there is a provision in there
for protecting job security benefits for drivers and we know if that is not within the contracts and right now that if they try to rebid it is not allowed to put them in the contracts unless we pass this legislation. um there would be a bus strike and I think we saw uh in
past recent weeks the threat to even a halt of service how harmful that can be for students and families and so a way to circumvent that is thinking is is a passage of this legislation. We've called on local leaders to also support this. Um, and then also we have a demand
that the New York City Department of Education and the Panel for Education Policy and City Hall leadership negotiate the shortest possible extension of outdated school bus contracts so that the DOE can rebid on bus contracts and work to actually modernize and improve the yellow bus service system. I want to be clear that
this call for re uh being able to rebid and and bring the bus contracts into the 21st century is not a silver bullet. This is not a sort of be all end all. There's also a lot of reform that can needs to happen and should happen within the office of people transportation. And
that's also why in addition to wanting new school bus contracts and negotiating the shortest extension possible so that we can have time for the passage of le leg legislation and to have students and families involved in the rebid process. Um there's also the demand for the New
York City Department of Education and Pan and the PEP and City Hall to do all that they can do to improve bus service now um to work to ensure that when we also have new bus contracts, all of these things are working in tandem and we are attacking this problem that's
very multifaceted um with all the solutions that are that are needed to actually improve change. And so just a little bit of an overview of what we've done so far as a coalition. Um again, we launched the we
launched that platform in the spring. It was signed on by over uh roughly 30 organizations, over 50 individuals. We co-hosted multiple town halls um on transportation to inform folks on this school bus contract dilemma because
there's such a complex idea to sort of think about how labor and eps might be connected to why there's contracts that are 46 years old that are connected to why a bus doesn't have AC or there's no afterchool or there's no summer busing.
Um, and so we worked on on educating folks and and and also listening. Um, you know, there are a lot of really deep wounds of folks that have not been able to have their child attend school because of school busing issues. Um, and so we hosted those town halls. We had a
rally on city hall steps in the fall. All for folks again to really bring this momentum around demanding better busing. And also over 4,000 letters have been sent to Governor Hokll and key state legislators on approving that key legislation for being able to rebid.
All of this has been sort of a road to progress. And so to give folks again more context and background of like where we've been and where we are now. So in June those 46 year old school bus contracts expired and they are up for renewal um for another extension. And so
New York City and and bus companies began to sign emergency contracts at that time. So you covered summer busing um in part of the fall. Um that is sort of what happened throughout the summer, right? There were these negotiations that those were were
happening and we were building momentum. September is really when everything sort of started to come to a head. Those negotiations remained ongoing, but parents, community advocates, or coalition members were galvanizing support to urge the PEP to not approve
long-term 5-year contract extensions. And the panel be showed unanimous support of opposing these contracts. Um, the PEP also formed an advisory committee. So for folks who don't know, right now there's a pupil transportation advisory commission called the PTAC that's made of advocate or
representatives, parents and others um including myself to create some formal recommendations to improve transportation and these aren't just contract recommendations. This is also looking at the whole systems the office of people transportation. We recently actually had a hearing and that actually
brought us to October. And so October, for folks, I'm sure we're well aware within the parent community, um, one Monday morning, uh, the bus companies decided to have publish in the New York Post that they threatened to halt service and to lay off all of their
workers. Um, and this was because they were not guaranteed a long-term 5-year contract extension because parents, community members, and had been talking to the PEP and folks had been honestly have fed up with um the lack of service, the lack of respect, um the uh problems
that have been going on for decades. Um and uh the at the same time that this was happening, the PTAC also hosted a public hearing reaffirming the call for uh not a long-term extension and hearing from dozens of parents that are struggling with busing due to after
school double tripled up routes. Um uh even just getting a bus for their child. We heard from parents that had still did not have a bus for their child nearly 3 months into the school year. Um and then at the October panel for education
policy meeting um it was uh a very voicerous uh it was a very very contentious meeting but at the end of the day I think what we heard is that um you know parents parents drivers need to drive. Parents rely on drivers to get to
work and parents need um better busing as well. Um and it was unfair of bus companies to really use that wedge to try to pit groups against each other when really folks are asking for just improvements um and good governance, right? Um contracts that are not 46
years old. And so in October that PB voted unanimously on a resolution opposing a 5-year deal, effectively forcing bus companies to go back to the negotiating table. And so that sort of brings you up to speed on where we are now and maybe some background on what you were seeing in the news. um
advocates, parents, and the community have successfully stopped a 5-year deal. I would say um the PEP will vote on a three-year contract extension at their meeting on November 19th. And this is also still a time for advocacy. So 3 years, we at the be very beginning had
said no more than one year. Um contracts are retroactive. So um you know, to be clear, one year would be 6 months. Um, but we had always been calling for the shortest extension possible and so we're continuing to push for changes. 3 years
is still longer than we hoped for. Um, and it doesn't include key recommendations that are important to parents and families, including a coalition call for 100% accountability for GPS tracking. So that um we are asking for for uh bus companies to be uh
held accountable for having the GPS put on 100% of the time. Right now the the the updated contract amendment I believe is 90% and we find that unacceptable. Um there's also the road ahead. So not only
are we also pushing for changes um and uh still not happy or thrilled with three years, but there's also uh January 2026 um at the road ahead. The there's there's a legislative session coming up and those bills are still in play. Um
and so once that legislation session begins again, will the role passes to state leaders um to to provide a pathway for rebidding on new contracts, a pathway that would um not lead to a threat of halt of service that can
really harm students and families ability to be able to get their student to um student to school. That's my my little presentation. Um, I know I can talk fast, so I'm happy to take questions. I'm also always happy to take questions offline. Um, we have our
platform that we still have folks sign on to. And then we also have a list serve that we send out updates on advocacy opportunities, um, toolkits, um, and and updates on on where our campaign on improving student transportation is.
And that is everything. I'll also drop my email in the chat when I click out for people that might want to contact me. >> Thank you so much, Nia. Um, and I don't know if you're aware, but we do have a resolution later on um the agenda to
call on the New York City public schools and the mayor's office to establish clear standards of accountability, transparency, and safety across New York City student transportation serving more than 150 student riders. So hopefully we'll be able to pass that resolution at the end of this uh towards the end of
this meeting. >> Fantastic. Um we've been really really thankful and I just I think that all of this momentum I can't uh understate how unprecedented it is to even have a pose of a 5year to get to threeyear and all of that is due to momentum of parents
and community members everyone come becoming a unified front and really wanting better for for busing for uh children across New York City. So great. >> Um, so you're going to put your information in the chat. Um, we are over, but does anyone have any pressing
questions that they'd like to ask Nia? You can use the raise hand feature in the bottom of your screen. If not, you could also ask them in the chat. Ashley, >> hi. Thank you. Um, I just wanted to
know, are you available to um do like an in-person presentation at CC meetings? >> Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Um, I can definitely make myself available and I just dropped my email in the chat.
>> Awesome. Thank you so much. >> Okay. Um, so if you have any other questions, you can put them in the chat. We are now um the other slide, Josephine.
We are now very excited to introduce you all to the new chief of face, Dr. Ann Mary Lopez. Um Dr. that Ann Mary um we had met her at the um partnership for
student success and she is very receptive and open to parents and parent leaders. So we want to give her a huge welcome to CPAC and and an Mary if you'd like to introduce yourself. >> The floor is yours. >> Thank you Randy. Um so yes I am the new
chief of um faith Dr. Anary Lopez. Um I'm just excited to be in community. Um I deeply deeply believe in parents and in families and in communities and um it
being the center of education. Um so with that I'm going to go into the um some reminders of faith. Um so this is our last meeting before the Thanksgiving
break. So, I want to start by thanking each and every one of you for your continued hard work and your commitment and the way you show up for our families and communities every single day. Um, we have to do this work collectively and in
community. So, I hope you all find um next week uh time next week to be rested, recharged, and um surrounded by people who bring you joy. Um so before we head head to the holiday break, I want to um lift a few reminders. Um
recently there was a data privacy information session. Um thank you to everyone who participated in the data privacy session with FLC FSC teams on November 10th. And the same session will be offered to parent leaders on November
17th at 6:00 p.m. Please um help spread the word. This information is essential to ensuring our families understand how to safeguard student and family data. Um there are upcoming uh chancellor's town
halls. We have two coming up. Um CEC15 is on Monday, December 1st. Um and CEC 11 town hall is on Tuesday, December 9th. These town halls are incredible
opportunities for families, community members, and parent leaders to engage directly with their CAC leadership and the chancellor asking questions, sharing concerns, and providing authentic feedback. Please continue to uplift these events within your community.
>> I tell you, every time I get on a All right. >> My apologies. >> Not a problem. All right. So, each community education council CC host on town one town hall. Um we recently
completed town halls uh with district 31 um Staten Island and district 6 Manhattan. Thank you to every family, student, parent, leader, and staff member who showed up. your presence reflects the power of partnership. Um, if you couldn't join those, please
attend one of the upcoming town halls. Um, and on October 31st, the revised chancellor's regulation D210 was released for public review and comment. You can access the public notice and proposed amendments on the
PEP um, SharePoint site. With all that information, the PEP meeting will be Wednesday, December 17th at 6 PM. Um it's going to be at um Evander Child's Educational Campus, 800 East Gunhill Road, Bronx.
On Wednesday, November 12th, we hosted New York City um parks and the mayor's office of immigrant affairs for our um CARES family connector series. These sessions um deepen understanding of citywide programs and services,
strengthen connectors ability to support family well-being, and ensure our immigrant families have access to critical information and rightsbased resources. All sessions, including this one, are available at um parent university.
We have um upcoming family connector sessions um every Wednesday, November 19th, the 3rd of December, December 10th, and December 17th. Um there are ways to sign up and family
connectors are invaluable to our communities. They help bridge families to um to critical NYC resources and services every single day. Um, and again as we head into the holidays, um, I want to share my gratitude. I work, um, the
work you do, the heart, the commitment, the care, um, matters deeply. Um, you make an impact that families feel. And remember, um, wishing you all a safe, restful, and joyfilled Thanksgiving. Enjoy your time with your loved ones.
>> Thank you so much, Dr. Lopez. So, now that everyone on CPAC has had a chance to meet you, would you mind dropping your email in the chat? So, if they'd like to send you an email, they can. >> Absolutely. >> Thank you so much.
Um, so as being that we have a few minutes before our chancellor joins because I don't see her here yet. Um, I just wanted to share that when we ask um when we send the questionnaire out, we're asking you to send us your
questions. So that our face le liaison Anthony Aguilar, he submits them to the chancellor and her team and they're able to respond. So they would have answers to your direct questions. They wouldn't have to go back and get back to us. So that's why we started doing that a few
years ago. Um it's just easier for them to come prepared to answer. It's not that we want them scripted because they're not. I I have to say that this chancellor has been the most
um engaging with us and involving us and empowering us and so is her team. So I just would like to like like it to continue and we just want to have positive and productive meetings. So please make sure that you fill out those questionnaires because we do submit your
questions directly um and then they come on ready to respond. So, I just wanted that to be clear. Does anyone want to share out what they're doing in their districts? You can use the raise hand feature on your screen
and share out anything great happening. Okay. I I am happy to report that we have five only five presidents councils which is still you know something but we only have five that do not have um president's councils um fully
functioning. We're waiting they have dates to have their election meetings. So I just want to make sure that anyone who's watching on the YouTube live stream that you're able to um get the link to the Zoom to be able to fully participate here. So, we hope that you
have successful elections, but thank you to everyone else who's held their elections and who are here today. Um, we appreciate you all being here and everything that you're doing for your families. Veronica, you have a question or you have something to share? >> Yes, I do. May I?
>> Of course. Of course. >> Thank you. Um, our district 17, we're doing a a turkey giveaway on the 20th. And on the 17th, I am doing a turkey giveaway to the parents in the community.
Thank you. >> That is fantastic. And especially now where there's so much food in security, that's a great thing that your district is doing. Vendana. >> Hi, my name is Vandana Bonia. I just want to say something. We have um a
middle school and uh elementary school fair that was ahead. We are coming with a new plan. Our superintendent Dr. Christie and the president council's president that's me will visit the PA meetings um in every school in our district and we'll find out from the
parents. We want to connect with the parents. Thank you. >> Thank you Ashley. >> Hi. So, I just wanted to share that in district 75 um at uh P94 and we have
been um opening um food pantries at all of our school sites to provide food for our families. We also have um turkey giveaways going on as well for our families. Um and then um during our CC meet CC1 meeting last night, um the
superintendent district one shared with us that we also have uh food pantries. is available in our 19 schools in um in district 1 as well. Um and um I will be uh assisting um the parent coordinators
uh to package the meals. Um and we also have a huge turkey giveaway that's actually hosted um by um Harvey Epstein and his team over here. Um, so it's definitely something um accessible for all of our families here um in the
district. Um, but I just wanted to share that uh given the situation going on. Um, and I've also been advocating for better busing. So, let's get all all the people we can to our next pep meeting. But that's it. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Ashley. Tanya, >> greetings everyone. Just wanted to share that we're having our district 23 high school fair tomorrow and we'll have our middle school fair on the 18th. Woohoo.
>> That is great. Jazelle, >> hi. Um, I want to share that we have uh CC28 has a Thanksgiving grocery giveaway coming up as well. Um, on my end, I've been sharing resources of local food
pantries in the area to families um that might be in need. Um, and starting that conversation just in case anyone knows of other resources available. Um, in terms of president's council, we've been having um CBOS's come into our meetings
and kind of provide free services that are available um for our schools such as group counseling or beautifification projects. Um, if anyone's interested, you can email me, let me know. I can send you their contact information. Um
we're looking to start a financial workshop in our meetings. Um we have some of our president uh PAS that are either um 501c3s and some that are not. And so
there's been some confusion on taxes on whether an a non503 just a regular PA council needs to file taxes or not. So, we are going to try to to book that um IRS workshop to see if we can have more
clarification on that. >> That is great. That's very empowering for parent leaders because they're always asking, you know, for help with the 501c3s. So, that's great that you're doing that in your district. Um Veronica, >> Veronica, was your hand up from before? >> Yes. I'm sorry.
>> Okay. Okay. Okay. Anyone else? I see the chancellor's team coming in, so she should be here shortly. Um,
next slide. Well, no, the the PSNU one up. >> Do you see it? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Okay. Um, does anyone else have anything that they like to share about what's happening in
the district? Okay. So, um I just want to share that like um during the season of giving and gratitude that we would like to take a moment. And I know our chancellor's not here, but I'm sure she'll hear. Um, to thank our amazing parent leaders, to
thank um, Chancellor Melissa V Ramos and her extraordinary team and everyone who supports our children's learning and well-being across New York City public schools. It is your dedication and heart that shine through in all that you do. And without you, there would be no
community, no connection, and no partnership behind our children's success. So, thank you for all that you give and for the difference that you make every single day. Cuz if I didn't say that now, I'd probably forget to say that at the end of the meeting.
Um, okay. I guess for right now, do we could Oh, Dr. Melendez, of course you could. Floor is yours. >> Hi. Thank you, chair. Um, I just want to say thank you for all that you do. Um we
can't do this work without all of you and your commitment and support and feedback. Um you have all in different ways um showed up and showed out for all of us um and and our random ideas and and very concrete policy plans um and
have made them insurmountably better. And for that we thank you and appreciate you in the spirit of um Thanksgiving and and the holidays to come. So, thank you and and we hope you recharge so that you can continue to to provide us with all
of the feedback and supports that you always do so that we can continue to make the improvements um to to make sure that students succeed. So, thank you. >> Thank you for that, Dr. Melendez.
Um so I guess while we wait we can move forward um to the resolution and then if the chancellor comes in we'll just pause. So this resolution is to urge New York City public schools
the mayor's office and New York City Council Oh, we're going to pause. Our chancellor is here. knew that would happen. Okay, let's just give her a second. Chancellor, um I saw that you came in. Good morning, everyone. Good morning.
Um, you can stop sharing, Josephine. So, Chancellor, the floor is yours. Welcome. >> Thank you so much. Good morning, everyone. Thank you as always for allowing me in the space um to meet with you and to hear directly from you. Uh, obviously, we are um approaching the
holidays um and we know that children are excited. I just finished visiting two schools in the Bronx. Um, you know, and and just making the rounds uh making rounds around the city. Um, and hearing directly from the children, seeing evidence of reads and solves um and and
just all the incredible work that's that's happening across our schools. Also met with parent leaders this morning. Um, our children actually I sat on a round table with children and they asked me how do I how do I envision parent communication for our schools?
And I thought that was such a big question for a fifth grader, but even our students are talking about the importance of empowering our parents. And so despite all of our challenges and the the long list of things we have to do for this great big system, it gives
me pride and joy to hear that even our our students themselves are talking about the need to empower and engage our parents. So, thank you as always for allowing me in the space. I'm happy to be here and I look forward to hearing from all of you. Of course, my team is here to help answer and any of your
questions. >> Thank you so much, Chancellor. Um before I start with the questions, I just want to make sure that you knew that we have CPAC has a position letter um calling on the mayor elect um Mr. Man mom Donnie to
retain you as chancellor to ensure continuity and progress for New York City public schools and families because you have been an amazing chancellor and we definitely want to make sure that you can continue in the work that you're doing and the positive effect that it's
having on all our children and families. Um and then we also have another resolution that we're going we hope to pass on busing because that is definitely one of the hottest topics of the year. Absolutely. Um and you know I first of all um
I I I can't there are no words to describe um how grateful I am for all of you for the um grace that you give me um whenever uh I don't live up to your expectations your honesty for how I and
the agency can do better um and for always welcoming me not only as the chancellor but as a as a fellow parent. Um, and so you all, I've said it before, you all have made me a better parent. Um, and regardless of what happens, I am
excited for New York City. I am excited about Mayor Elect Mdani's agenda. Um, and his fierce commitment to um, showing real progress in this city um, and getting us on a different track. And, um, it's been an honor to be with you.
And regardless of what happens, I'm always going to be a New York City parent just like you. Um, and I look forward to seeing our school system improve um, regardless of who is is champion. So, thank you so much and thank you for all the work that you've done on the on the busing side. Um, you
know, always have to shout out Remma. Uh, because to be honest with you, whenever I talk to Remma, it is a learning experience for me on the busing front. Um, and there's so many layers um to this to to this complex issue. Um, and really what we have proven is that
PEP and parent leadership are not rubber stamps. Um, it is real. That leadership is real. Um, that that that body is is very much um real and doesn't just stamp things and move them along. And if anybody thought that, they learned this
fall that that's not true. So, I'm just so proud um to lead alongside alongside all of you. >> Thank you for that. Um okay, so the questions we received in advance uh what is the plan both district and citywide
for replacing any federal funds the federal government tries to take away or tie up behi beyond extended litigation? And is there any type of rainy day fund? and when will we likely start to feel um these effects in your estimation?
>> You know, one of the things that we can say about the federal government is uh they were very transparent about their plans and so as a result of that we did a lot of careful planning uh very early on. It is one of the reasons why we have
held schools harmless twice. Um it is, you know, it it is something where we do have to rightsize budgets and we do have to make sure that under enrolled schools that we have a plan in place for them because holding schools harmless is not a sustainable plan. But when there are
threats of federal funding cuts, uh we want to get money into schools and districts as much as possible. Um, we also have have gone to court um with the federal with with the US DOE um in
particular um around our magnet school the magnet school funding because of our um unwavering support for transgender students. Um, and so I I think the way in which we've adjusted our fair student funding formula, the um the additional
dollars that we've gotten from the state, uh, the way we have held schools harmless, we've done everything that we possibly can to make sure that schools and districts do not feel the um the impact of of federal cuts. That being said, this is an ongoing conversation.
um every time something happens, our legal team, our policy team, our CFO's office um pours all over uh you know, the executive orders or or whatever funding cuts they're they're they're pulling from us to see what the implications are. We obviously have a
$40 billion budget. Um and and federal funding is a small percentage of it, but we were very proactive. And so these are turbulent times. I am not trying to undermine it. I'm not trying to downplay it. Um, but all we can do is be
proactive and now be reactive as things happen. Um, but but but we have been very clear that schools cannot feel the impact. Um, and I think we've we've done a great a great job with that. >> All right. Okay. Thank you for that. Um,
what is the current average case load for special education teachers and related service providers in the district and how is the district ensuring that these numbers allow for genuine progress monitoring? >> That's a great question and I know that we have folks from Dial who could get into the weeds on this. Um but but just
to say that Deputy Chancellor Fod and her team have done tremendous work um in in in making sure that there is more staff in making sure that they're working directly with superintendent and their teams um to support in all ways possible. So super uh superintendent
deputy chancellor FOD if you or your team could speak um about more specifics. >> Of course, Chancellor, good morning everybody. Um, so just to name and I'm happy to go into the specifics, but case loads for special ed teachers and are shaped by state and union rules and and
that's true for our related service providers as well. And they look those rules look differently in elementary, middle, high school. Um, and and certainly based on how the school organizes its day. To quickly go into specifics, and I'm happy to put this in writing for you. A special ed teacher
may work with about 12 may work with up to 12 students um while older students often have larger case loads because classes are departmentalized. And so um in ICT classes that looks different but in uh small classes those small classes
those special classes are up to 12 students. Um you know in district 75 we have many 6 to1 classes, we have many 8 to1 classes and we have many 12 to1 classes in D75 and in our district schools for sets. This is um the state
sets clear limits on that. Um and uh we have 30 students in elementary and up to 38 in middle and high school with small groupoup instruction unless the IEP calls for something differently. Our related service providers that include speech, OT, and PT usually see
up to eight 30 minute sessions a day and also have built-in time to track and monitor student progress. I mean I love that with this case load conversation you've asked about progress monitoring because it is so key and so important um to you know regardless of case load we
have to know where students are and if we as teachers and providers are doing something that is not working for a child then we have to pivot and make different instru make different instructional choices or therapeutic choices and so those are active and ongoing conversations with families and
if those are not active and ongoing conversations with families and we really need to engage the school administration and and as always that you know that the district and central are ready to support there but um we want our parents to be active partners in in their child's progress um and that
means being informed. So um that's that's a key part of our work uh and it is something that we're committed to making sure continues to happen. >> Thank you for that DC FOD. >> Of course. Next question is, "We'd like guidance on what steps Title One schools
can take if it loses funding or support for its after school program. Are there alternative grants or DOE resources available that we could apply for to maintain programming for our students?" So, one of the things that we did um
when the state pulled funding uh for after school programs last year is uh we we funded those and we did that again this year. Um we also know that the mayor's office um has implemented the universal afterchool um
and so a number of schools are participating that as well. So I think you know what's what's important for us is again going back to what I said earlier is we have put money into schools budgets. I know a lot of schools um are are self-funding through their their budgets which is why holding
schools harmless was so important. We also um made sure that we we picked up the bill when the state uh didn't fund those programs anymore. Um and so those are things that we that we've continued to do. Um I just saw in the chat someone
said a school lost a grant for funding. I don't know if Flavia or um Christina Melendez if you're able to take this, but um wherever there's a specific case, we are happy to work with the principal and superintendent to see how we can support. But these budget decisions that
we made and putting money into schools as much as possible and expanding after school and picking up um the bill when the state wasn't or didn't didn't do it and wasn't able to. Um those are ways that we show our commitment for after school. Again, I'm a mom. I I couldn't
run around the city and do the job that I do without my daughter having after school in her in her building. We all benefit from it and we want to make sure that highquality after school programs are happening. So, thank you for putting this in the chat. I see. Uh, yep, I'm
taking a look at it now. >> Yeah, we'll definitely follow up with your school specifically um cuz Flavia's team also does a wonderful job of really supporting the principal um in looking through the budget and finding opportunities where after school could
be self-funded or ways to be creative about how we use funds or programs. Um and so Flavia does a wonderful job at doing that as well as all of the things that the chancellor shared around what are we doing more holistically to really support um the permanence of afterchool
in our communities because because we can't do it without without the afterchool program. So we'll follow up with these schools specifically and thank you and keep putting them in the chat. >> Thank you so much. Um next question. How can we better support students from K to
five with defiant or violent behavior episodes when parents aren't cooperative? >> I'm sorry, can you say that question again? >> How can we better support students from K to 5 with defiant or violent behavior episodes when parents aren't cooperative?
>> That's a really great question. You know, there are so many ways that we support students with these types of behaviors and one of the ways is really getting to the root cause of it. Is it a manifestation of a disability? Um, is it that something is going on where their social emotional needs are not being met
at the school or in the home? Um, so it really is a case- by case basis and we have uh DC FOD, I'm sure we have Mark Rampers on the on the call. Um, so I invite them to um to talk about the different ways that we assess the the root cause of the issue and then how we
activate on a plan. >> Yes. So I'll start um I I can say building relationships. So, building relationships with family and staff. Um, widen the communication, the the community net around the young person. The chancellor talked about root causes.
What is the reason why a young person is misbehaving? There may be some things that are missing um from the home, right? That the school can supplement creating traumainformed sensitive environments that include calming corners for kids, right? schools have
been very very creative sensory spaces um you know creating routines for young people who are having those kinds of regular challenges that are not directly connected to anything until such time as a young person can be evaluated. Um developing an individual behavioral plan
that emphasizes on understanding rather than punitive um for young people. Some of the things that we can do um making sure that every one of our young pe people have a champion in the school that that they connect that they're connected with. So when they are starting to sort of r up a little bit,
there's that one person who they connect with that can reach them in ways that um that others don't, right? And then the other piece is supporting our parents, right? creating these opportunities where parents can learn about different um challenges that young people face
that they might not necessarily know how to or be equipped to to deal with. Right? Parents need supports too and they're usually frustrated at some of these behaviors and they don't know how to address them themselves. So if our schools can offer these professional
learnings for parents to educate them on what supports exist that can extend to the home is another way by which we can support you know parents who we believe as not being respondive not being responsive but you know they just really don't have the tools to support the
young person in the way that we we believe that they should. So hopefully that's helpful. >> Thank you Mark. Um, next question. We have some AI questions. >> Sorry, can I just add one more thing to to that? I think this is also a a piece
where the parent empowerment space is so important because sometimes a parent is uncooperative, if they feel like they're being judged, if they feel like their child is being judged. Um the relationship building piece that
Mark mentioned is so important and I just want to underscore this is where parent empowerment comes into play because if our PTAs and our parent leaders and the CEC and if they are welcome into the building and they have
leadership roles where they can work together with parents and help them through this challenge as well then they are more amunable to receiving supports. Um that place of judgment does not help anyone and I have witnessed it with my
own eyes in the last 18 years in the system where parents feel like they have to defend themselves and their child and it's not from a the what they're getting from the school doesn't feel supportive. It feels punitive. And so I just want to say that that that's why the parent
empowerment piece isn't only about creating advocates, but it's also about making sure that parents feel protected whenever we have to intervene to support them and their child. >> And Chancellor and um Randy, may I just add a shout out uh to Beyond Access
series and we can drop this link in the chat, but Chancellor, exactly what you're saying. Um we have an upcoming beyond access series uh session coming up on challenging behaviors, managing challenging behaviors at um in the home. Um and what we're going to be pointing
out to families is right what we said earlier, behavior is a form of communication. Um and that it is on us to help give strategies to families um and and within the school day to support those challenging behaviors. And whether that look like speech and communication
challenge um supports or occupational therapy supports or counseling supports, um getting to that root cause of behavior is something that we're going to be doing a session on um as a way of of really opening up that dialogue with families that this is this is on us to
help in in that regard to both at school and and at home. So, uh we can drop the the link to that. Thanks, Suzanne. We welcome all of you. Thank you. Um, so some AI questions. How
does New York City public schools plan to address potential inequities in access to AI technology across schools? >> I love that question. So I I just visited PS19 in Woodlon uh section of
the Bronx and there was a technology center and the students were working on these personalized um AI. It was a personalized AI experience where they were predicting weather patterns and talking about preventive
measures. It was really really um engaging. It was very rigorous. Um, and the kids were just all all into it. I understand the fear of data privacy. I truly do. Again,
I can't say it enough. My daughter is a student in the system and I certainly don't want any data breaches for her or any of our children in the system. But, but what we can't have is some kids benefiting from these technologies and
other kids being left behind. So safety and mitigating bias need to be at the center and that's why we created that four-part framework. Um that's why we have an AI advisory council. This is why we're actually talking to edtech companies and we're talking to professors at universities so that way
we can push for an agenda that does mitigate bias because we do we do know that a lot of these generative AI tools um that that they are very eurosentric um and we want to make sure that they are reflective of the diversity of New
York City and we also know that data privacy is is very very important but the way in which we approach the work has to where we're vetting all of the tools, where we know what's going on in our schools, where we um we know there's
a way to train teachers on how to use AI, so it's not replacing that teacher support. You should we just took phones away from kids. We can't now put them on devices where a teacher is just kind of walking around the room to make sure
that they're on task. That's not what we want. We want to make sure that technology is used um to enhance the instructional experience that teachers provide in the classroom. So this is why we are monitoring and executing from a central perspective on this. We don't want teachers and schools doing this on
their own. But in order to do that, we need to be able to push an AI agenda forward. Um and so we need you. We need parents to really deeply understand what we're trying to accomplish with AI. I think that at some point we are definitely um in need of a briefing with
all of you to talk to you about the types of tools that um we do support. The way in which we vet um and our vision for AI uh communicating it um is not enough because we need to make sure that whatever fears that you all have as
parents that we're working to address those so that way you can support us and giving your child that kind of experience. So that way it's not just based on zip code. We want to make sure that kids whether they're in the South Bronx or Central Brooklyn or in
Flushing, Queens, they are getting an experience that is preparing them for an AI powered world. >> That is great. Um and thank you because we definitely want to be included. We want to share our concerns um and suggestions. So we appreciate that so
much. Um, next is how will AI be used to support diverse learners including multil multilingual and special education students? >> Yeah, again uh it's it's about selecting the right tools uh that are safe um that
are uh reflective of our diversity and that we can leverage to support with translation and and and acquiring a new language um and and supporting students with disabilities. As a f matter of fact, um, Deputy Chancellor FOD has some
great examples of what that looks like. Um, we went um to visit um a school where Amamira is being used to help students um build their their reading fluency, develop their reading fluency. Um, so I also invite the team um to talk a little bit about the very specific
examples of where AI does work in our school system. Um, and Deputy Chancellor Fod, I don't mean to put you on on spot, but I think it would be great uh especially since the question specifically asks asks about special education. >> Yeah, of course. Um, well, this is uh I
we're so excited to talk about this, but um we one of the tools that that Suzanne Sanchez, who's on Chief Sanchez, has been championing is the read and write tool, which is available for free to every New York City public school student. And now while it's not specifically AI, it gives us incredible
insight into what uh where we need to go in terms of instructional technology to support students with disabilities and multilingual learners. What's amazing about this as you download it, it becomes um uh automatically you can use for any content to provide uh speech to
text to to provide a dictionary feature to provide translation for other languages. Suzanne, I know this is your passion project, but so what else would you say about this? And again, it's I don't want to to sell this as a uh an AI specific tool, but to the chancellor's
point about where what Amira does and what other tools um they're building on access. And so this tool gives access and then AI would take it to another level. But Suzanne, Chief Sanchez, can you tell us a little bit about why you love this so much? >> Absolutely. And thank you for that. Um
and um thank you to whoever submitted the question. And I also want to share um that um thanks to uh uh Chancellor Vis Raml that dial uh has a se multiple seats at the table in the um AI uh
working groups and committees that are being run out of New York City public schools. And uh this is important because to use deputy chancellor FO's language we will not be retrofitting AI on the back end to support students with disabilities and multilingual learners
that will be incorporated in the building process from jump alongside all other students and that that is key and that can't be overstated. Uh the tool that deputy chancellor is referring to as read and write and I will drop a link to the chat here for all of you. This is
a tool and a license that is available for every single student, teacher, and parent in New York City public schools. Read and write provides realtime access to grade level content to students who may not be accessing that grade level
content in that exact moment because they um are working utilizing evidence-based strategies to gain literacy skills. And the tool gives them real-time access in many different ways. And we are really proud that Read and
Write has translates from 90 different languages on the spot in the moment. Um, it is an example of access access to literacy curriculum and access to real-time content and and it's so important and we're really proud of this
work and our partnership with DSL around implementing uh at various schools across New York City. And I will share the link in the chat here for all. Thank you. Um, next is how will New York City public school help parents guide
their children in using AI responsibly at home and for homework? >> Yeah, this goes back to us um really need having to set up briefings for families and I want to be transparent like Dr. P and her team, you know, Tara,
all everyone has been really amazing in pulling together um my vision for AI, which I I paused. I paused. Chancellor Banks started it, but it didn't feel like we were actually going anywhere. We were just talking about AI as its own
thing. And AI is not really its own thing. Really, what it is is how are we looking at AI to enhance everything that we're doing. So enhanced reads, enhance solves, enhanced pathways, enhanced parent leadership. Um that is how we're looking at AI and separate and apart
what is this framework for how we're approaching the integration of AI into our existing initiatives which is why we have the four-part framework. So we have a lot of work to do and we have to work really quickly because AI is outpacing us. But I think setting up those briefings with parents and talking about
the different tools that we um we support and what our vetting process is before um before an AI program is integrated into our school system. Um how can you use it? So like training sessions and webinars. Um those are all
things that we need to do so parents are a part of it. Um and that is going to help with the fear as well. Um, you know, AI can be a tool and or it could be a weapon, right? Just like all things technology. And and we need to make sure that parents are included in this
process so they understand how they themselves can leverage it um to support their kids and support support themselves. Um but but we can't expect you all to do that without giving you that uh that training. So more to come.
this is something that we're working on every single day. Um, and we need to pick up the pace and and that's something that that we admit. Uh, but we did take that pause to be very intentional and and and figure ourselves out. Um, because what we didn't want to do was just um talk about something
without an actual plan attached to it. Um, Chancellor, if I could add one one piece, I just wanted to make sure that I've put this out there so that families know um that one of the things that we're focused on is reviewing with like
laser focus our internal Irma process so that we can ensure that as AI is rapidly um being enhanced that our internal policy ies are very strong to ensure
safety of families and we're also examining to make sure that our policies align with regulatory uh laws um and and we throw the the terminology around. So you'll hear things like Furpa, you'll hear things like COPA, all of the different
regulatory um structures that are in place. We are actively engaging in them with our um governance structure to ensure that we have the strongest um kind of guard rails and protection for
our students and also making sure that the AI tools that have been approved through our Irma process are also utilizing what we call enterprise grade which means we can control those the the protection levels that are placed um
around the tools for students and maintaining compliance for the tools that students are utilizing um and that students do have access to. So, this is at the forefront of everything that we're doing. And I just want to make sure that in this forum that you you
hear us say it so that you know that we do have our fingers all over um making sure that these these systems and structures are met from a safety standpoint, but also ensuring um the the bias that we know does exist within
tools are also being um examined and looked at um to enhance the learning of students but also to protect our students at the same time and support teachers um you know dayto day. So it's an ongoing process but the more
questions the more feedback we get from families it it only helps us to double down on how we structure the supports and systems um across the city. >> Thank you so much for that. Appreciate that.
Um, so that is all the questions that we received. Um, Veronica, you have your hand up. >> Yes, I do. It's I mean it's not an AI question. It's just a question that um
trying to find out what can be done with kids who have um obviously have a a problem uh you know but parents do not want to acknowledge and these kids are continued to abusing the teachers hitting on them and the parsers. What
can we do um to parents to understand that these kids need extra help? Yeah, that >> that goes back to the question that was asked earlier and and Chief Ramper Sance and I both talked about the relationship component. There are a number of issues why a parent sometimes won't accept the
help. Sometimes a parent may feel like the school is not giving them options or that they're not supportive. Sometimes a parent is in denial. That's why the relationship building is so important. And I know that doesn't sound like the the kind of answer that's that's so specific and you might walk away saying, "Well, what does that mean?" It's
because it's a case-byase basis. There's no one formula for how to break through to a parent who's going through that. I can tell you as a principal that I had some very, very challenged students and some parents would come to me and say, "I need help. I recognize this." And other parents would say, "This only happens in your school. They're
wonderful at home." And we knew that that wasn't true because siblings would tell us otherwise. But it was about establishing a relationship with the parent where I would tell them, "If you need me because something's going on outside or you see something, call me.
I'm here to help you. I'm school mom. You're home mom. I'm not I'm not judging you. I'm just trying to figure out a way to help." That's when we would see things change with those families. When I would start trying to build a relationship with the student, sometimes
that worked, sometimes it didn't. But at the very least, when we got the parent to understand that this was an intervention of support and that we were trying to give them options to move the child into a better place both physically and emotionally, then we saw
those barriers break down. But there's no magic solution for this. It really is a case-byase basis. And so again, I know I I I say this a lot, but if there is a very specific case at a school that you're aware of, the best thing is to
communicate that with Mark and me and Melinda. So that way between among the three of us, we can work with the school to offer that support. But what what we cannot subscribe to is a one-sizefits-all approach. I will not as
a mother and as an educator say we remove that student from the school. We suspend that student. We we cannot do that. Right? And so we need to look at the situation, meet with the parent, meet with the school leader, see what interventions and support we can offer
at the school level. And if that's not enough, then what are the options? because we know that while we offer support to one student, we cannot we cannot forget the rest of the school community. And I think that's what I'm hearing you say that you that that in
some cases the teacher and the rest of the school community um are are suffering in this process and we don't want that to happen either. So please connect with Mark. It sounds like there's a very specific case. connect with Mark, Melendez, and me. Um, so that
way we can figure out the the right intervention. So, Mark and Melendez, if you can follow up, that would be that would be great. >> Absolutely. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you so much for that. Um, Chancellor, um, >> so I know that we're over time. I don't
know if if you're still good or >> I unfortunately I have to go. I have to run. Today's Bronx Steam Center day. We're super excited um to uh talk announce you know the the the temporary spot site but then of course our long-term site. Um so I I apologize I
can't spend more time here but I thank you for your questions. I thank you for your overwhelming support for your grace and as always um for being true partners with to our team. So wish you a great great day and uh please as always follow up with anything specific. Thank you so
much. And also wishing you and your family happy Thanksgiving to you and your team. >> Yes, that's right. I'm so sorry we're not going to see each other before Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Bye-bye.
>> Okay, we are going to move on. Josephine, if you could share your screen. Resolution for busing. not coming up. >> One second. >> Um, it should now. Okay. You see that?
>> Yeah. You just got to go down to the resolution. There you go. Can you make it bigger or no? >> I might have to share the actual. Can everybody see that? >> Yeah, but it's like tiny. Everybody I mean the voting members have it in their
um in the email. Yeah, that's good. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> So, Josephine. >> Okay. Where's yours? Okay. The resolution is to urge New York City public schools, the mayor office,
and the New York City Council to establish clear standards of accountability, transparency, and safety across the New York City student transportation system, serving more than 150,000 student riders.
Whereas more than 150,000 New York City public school students rely on the city's school transportation system every day, including children attending community school district schools, charter schools, district 75 programs, non-public and religious schools, early
childhood centers, and specialized education sites where publicly funded services are provided. And whereas these students representing every burrow, neighborhood, grade level, background, need, and socioeconomic group depends on consistent, safe, and reliable
transportation as a core component of their access to a free public education. Whereas families across the city have experienced ongoing challenges in communication, transparency, reliability, and accountability
within New York City pupil transportation system. affecting students safety, attendance, well-being, and instructional time. Whereas parents and advocates have frequently documented delays, route disruptions,
malfunctioning, or inaccessible GPS systems, extreme temperature conditions, inconsistent staffing, and reliable oversight despite repeated commitments to approve transportation services. Whereas safe, timely, and humane
transportation is essential to ensuring that all New York City public school students can access their educational placements as required under state and federal law, and that the rights of the students with disabilities are protected and guaranteed.
Be it resolved that New York City public schools, the Office of Pupil Transportation, the New York City Council, the mayor office shall adopt and enforce the following citywide standards before authorizing or renewing any long-term transportation contracts.
Be it resolved that communication standards all bus companies shall maintain dependable real-time communication channels including dedicated work phones for attendance drivers dispatch parents schools to ensure a prompt notification
of delays emergencies or route changes GPS accuracy and accessibility every student route shall maintain accurate consistent real-time GPS tracking that is accessible ible to families, schools, and DOE administrators.
Temperature safety. All vehicles shall maintain functioning functioning dual air conditioning during warm months and heating during cold months to ensure safe travel for all students and riders. Service accountability. New York City
public schools and OPT shall establish clear performance metrics bench metrics benchmarks for accountability and enforcable consequences including liquidated damages for bus companies that fail to meet communication safety,
reliability or service standards. One second before my computer dies. Modernized routing. OPT shall invest in modern routing technology and operational systems that reduce travel
time, improve efficiency, and strengthen oversight for all student riders. Public trans public transparency of data. New York City public schools shall publicly release daily transportation
performances data including GPS usage on time performance service delays and route issues and shall upload this data to New York City open data disegraded by route and time of day and complaint response requirements.
OPT shall issue written updates to parents regarding complaint resolutions within five business days. Travel time limits. New York City public schools, OPT, and all contracted bus companies shall ensure that no students
ride exceeds 90 minutes under any circumstances. IEP and 504 compliance. All transportation contracts shall prioritize compliance with IEP mandated transportation and 504 accommodations as
primary criteria in contract selection and ongoing service delivery, ensuring that accommodations are provided and stipulated. Um, be it further resolved that New York City public schools and OPT shall reform
the transportation contract bidding process so that awards are determined not solely by lowest cost but by quality of service, safety, compliance, workforce stability, compliance with IEP mandated transportation requirements,
and adherance to the standard outlined in this resolution. And be it further resolved that New York City public schools shall adopt and implement the school bus bill of rights as developed by parents to improve school transportation which includes the
following essential features: routing, staffing inclusive hiring and internships, safety and health, multilingual communication, access and accommodations, accountability, transparency, governance, and be it further resolved that New York
City public schools shall I'll establish two distinct bodies to ensure transparency, equity, and accountability in student transportation. a permanent student transportation oversight committee composed of parents, students, advocates, bus workers,
educators, disability rights representatives, union reps, OPT policy makers, and DOE officials empowered to monitor ongoing compliance, review complaints, evaluate performance data, and recommend policy changes with meaningful authority to asssure
accountability. an immediate contract development working group composed of the same stakeholders tasked with negotiating the terms of a contract extension of no more than two years that balances the needs of bus companies
um workers, families, and riders while simultaneously developing comprehensive new contract requirements that incorporate the standards in this resolution. Be it further resolved that New York City public schools shall include parents, students, advocacy
representatives in the development of all transportation contracts to ensure transparency, equity, and accountability. And be it further resolved that the panel for educational policy shall not approve any transportation contract extension
exceeding two years, and any extension must be contingent upon. demonstrated progress toward meeting the standards outlined in this resolution. Active participation of the contract development working group, implementation of the school bus bill of
rights provisions highlights listed here. Rejections of any new RFP RFP that fails to incorporate these requirements and or emits the voice of families, advocates, workers, and students from the process. And be it further resolved that these standards shall ensure that
the rights of students with and without disabilities are protected, respected, and no longer violated and no longer violated through inadequate transportation services. Some suggested additions.
New York City public schools and OPT shall require all contracted vendors to publicly to publicly report monthly staffing levels, vacancy rates, attendance rates, and substitute coverage disegregated by burrow and
depot to ensure adequate staffing for safe and timely service. OPT shall establish minimum annual training standards for all drivers and attendance including disability awareness deescalation communication protocols and
temperature safety procedures. OPT shall establish an emergency riding protocol guaranteeing temporary same day or next day transportation solutions for students experiencing sudden displacement, housing and security or
safety related relocations. Excuse me. And current contingency measures measures do not guarantee support for students facing sudden displacement housing. Domestic violence relocations, temporary
stays with relatives, address instability or out of district placements protected under McKini Vento. OPT also does not guarantee same day or next day emergency service as approvals depend on
internal casebycase decisions. And this is submitted to the New York City Council, New York City Public Schools Chancellor and Cabinet and the New York City Mayor's Office. >> Thank you, Josephine. Um,
so I should have had someone motion um asked for a motion. Um, so can someone make a motion? Um, >> I make a motion >> for the resolution. >> Thank you, Vandana. Uh, second >> second by Samuel.
>> Thank you. Um, so we can open it up to questions. um to debate. Anyone? I have a motion for an amendment if I can.
>> Okay. What is the amendment? So, in the last section, um, where the bullets are, where there's a list that it says what should be included in a contract, like that they
shouldn't have a longer term. Um, at the end of that, I'd like to add a bullet that says mandating the inclusion of a cancellation convenience clause in all bus contracts. And I'll put that in the chat as well.
Okay. Would someone like to second the amendment? >> Thank you, Caroline. >> And just so everyone knows that so that DOE can cancel if they're not meeting the terms of their contract. >> That is a good amendment.
Um, any debate? >> Any questions? Okay. So, we can bring it to a vote. We will do the vote um
by roll call. Um Josephine, you want to take the um a roll call vote? So, we're going to vote in favor, opposed. So, yes or no to make it simple? Okay. >> One second.
So you can vote yes, no, or abstain. >> District um district two. >> District three. >> Yes. >> District four. >> Yes. >> Uh district six.
She wrote yes in the chat. >> Okay. >> Uh, district 11. >> District 15. >> Yes. >> District 17. >> Yes.
>> Uh, District 20. Yes. District 21. >> Yes. District 22. >> Yeah. >> District 23. >> District 25.
>> Yes. >> District 26. District 28. District 29. >> Yes. >> District 30. >> Yes. >> District 31.
>> Yes. >> District 75. >> Bronx. Um, sorry. Brooklyn High Schools. >> Yes. Bronx, Rama, Manhattan High Schools
and Staten Island High Schools. Yes. >> Did I miss anybody? Okay, that's everybody. >> Okay, we have 13 yeses. So, the resolution passed. Thank you everyone. >> And now we're going to move on. We have
a position letter. Um Josephine, can you share your screen? This one I have to share my the actual Becca. >> All right. So, this is a letter regarding uh CPC calling for the mayor
elect Namani to retain Chancellor Melissa of Ramos to ensure continuity and progress for New York City public schools students and families. to the incoming New York City administration. On behalf of the chancellor's parent advisory council, the body that represents parent president's councils
across all 32 community school districts, five burough high school councils in district 75, we urge you to retain Chancellor Alyssa Az Ramos as chancellor of New York City public schools. Families across this city deserve stability, experience, leadership, and continuity during this
critical transition. New York City public schools has seen real measurable progress under Chancellor Avivas Ramos alongside steady leadership through the yellow bus crisis as well as notable progress in New York State ELA and math scores and her work
creating Project Open Arms. In a system this large, continuity matters. Disrupting leadership now would jeopardize our gains in instruction and derail urgent transportation fixes that directly affect our most vulnerable students systemwide. For decades, the chancellor has shown unwavering
commitment to New York City's children. Her knowledge of the school system inside and out, past and present, is unmatched. At a time when students and families face unprecedented challenges and require consistent, trusted leadership, removing her would create unnecessary disruption and weaken the
progress underway. Why continuity under Chancellor Vis Ramos matters. Students outcomes are moving in the right direction. NYCPS reports that the highest ELA and math proficiencies since 2012 with year-over-year gains of 7.2
points in ELA and 3.5 points in math between 20 2024 and 25. These gains are tied to sustained systemwide priorities New York City reads, New York City solves and student pathways that have been expanded to reach tens of thousands more students. Keeping the chancellor
keeping the chancellor keeps these initiatives on track. crisis leading on busing. When city when a citywide transportation disruption threatened service for roughly 150,000 students this fall, the chancellor and New York City public schools executed emergency
extensions with bus companies, activated a contingency planning and publicly communicated options to families while negotiations continued ultimately averting a cat catastrophic shutdown. That's steady management under pressure. And it that is steady management under
pressure. And it protected students with disabilities, those in temporary housing and foster care youth who depend on yellow buses every single day. Trust and collabor collaboration with parent leadership. CPAC's mission to elevate I got a page up to elevate parent voices
and concerns and to advise the chancellor under Chancellor of Das Ramos. Our engagement has been substantive and solutions b focused. The relationship between parents and the chancellor working in tandem is not easily replaced and it is essential to meeting classroom transportation and
safety challenges on a scale. She gave back the ability to parents to not just be engaged but to be included, involved and empowered to be real agents of change in New York City public schools which has been missing for a very long time. Broad public confidence. Even outside
city hall, education stakeholders have signaled willingness to maintain stability at the top of New York City public schools. Recognizing the cost of abrupt leadership change, the city cannot afford to reset strategies midstream. We feel that a transparent,
merit-based, communityinformed process should be developed for future chancellor selection. In fact, we welcome the opportunity to partner with the new administration to design such process, one that reflects the needs, values, and lived experiences of New York City public school families. But
until such a system is thoughtfully created and implemented, the current chancellor should remain in place. And once that process is established, she must be considered as a candidate with her extensive experience and demonstrated leadership weighed fairly alongside any applicant. What CPAC asked city hall to sustain with the
chancellor's leadership. New York City stands at a pivotal moment. With a new administration and a chancellor who deeply understands this system, we have a real opportunity to redefine what public education can and should be rooted in rooted in equity, the transparency, authentic family
partnership. Rebuilding trust and transforming outcomes will require strong informed leadership that does not need a leaning cur learning curve. We cannot afford to lose momentum. Chancellor Aas Ramos has been the steady hand guiding these actions and the
instructional gains behind them. CPAC therefore respectfully but unequivocally calls for you to retain Chancellor Melissa Ailas Ramos so we can continue the work we've started together. As parent leaders elected across every burough citywide, representing communities of every background and
need, we urge you to prioritize what is best for our children, stability, expertise, and a genuine commitment to collaborative change. families are watching and we are ready to work alongside you. We thank you for your consideration and look forward to your leadership and partnership with New York
City families. >> Thank you. Someone likes to make a motion. Oh, Caroline. Thank you. Someone like to second it. >> District 31 second. Yeah, >> I heard Vandana and Melissa. So, I guess
we'll second and third it. Um, any questions or debate on the position letter? Okay, quiet group today. I guess we'll bring it to a vote. Um, >> okay.
>> District two, District Three, >> four. >> Yes. I'm sorry. Uh, district three said yes. >> Yes. Sorry. >> Uh, district four. >> Yes.
>> Okay. Um, District 6, District 11, District 15. >> Yes. District 17, >> she left. >> District 11 wrote yes in the chat. So
did six. >> Okay. District 20. Yes. District 21. >> Yes. >> District 22. >> Yes. >> District 23.
Throw >> yes in the chat. >> Okay. Um, district 25. >> Yes, in the chat. >> District 26.
>> District 28. >> District 29. >> Yes. >> District 30. >> Yes. District 31. >> Yes.
>> District 75. >> Absolutely. >> Uh Brooklyn High Schools. >> Yes. >> Bronx High School. >> She wrote yes in the chat. >> Manhattan High School.
>> They're not here. >> And Staten Island. >> Yes. Okay. Am I missing anybody? >> We lost count. I'm sorry. >> 17.
>> Okay. So, the position letter passes. Thank you all for that. And we are now going to move on to Anony's hot topics. We're gonna learn together, lead together, and make a difference together. So Anthony, the
floor is yours. >> Good afternoon everybody. Um so I created a slide based on topics that have came up in the last couple of months just to bring it to everybody awareness um and to ensure that we are
following um chancellor's regulations. So give me one second while I share my screen. Sorry. Okay. I think there's something going on with Google today because you're not the only
one that's having problems. >> Thank you for confirming that. >> Oh, wait. We got somewhere. Okay. So, I'm going to go a little quick because I know we're over time. Um so this is the parent leadership structures. The two
that we're going to be speaking about today are PAPAs um on the school level and then president's council on the district level. So as we all know PAPAs
do the following things. Um they discuss needs and concerns with families. uh they consult with the principles on parent concerns and they bring information to families at their meetings um and fund raise to support
schools. So one of the most important things that we have to ingrain in every PATA president's council is that chancellor's regulation is the primary document um for all PA and PTAs and president's
councils. Um, your bylaws is a secondary document that establishes um, basically like protocols and governs the PAPA or President's Council. If there are any provisions in your bylaws
that um, conflict with the regulations, the regulations basically make it null and void. So if anything contradicts the uh chancellor's regulation supersedes anything that your
bylaw states. So eligibility we all know you need to be a parent member. And here below is the definition of a parent member. I'm not going to read it to you um because we are pressed in time.
However, here are the mandatory executive board positions for PAS and PTAs. Now, one thing that we have to note um during election season, we have to pay attention to our bylaws to make
sure um that if it states that we have co-presidents or co- secretaries or co- treasurers, right? because that gives an opportunity for people to run together
um and execute the work. How any other positions beside this are non-mandatory members? Um that could be anything such as a vice president. Um I know some schools have tech people and things of
that nature. When it comes to co-presidents, however, we have to make sure that if one person is removed or steps down, resigns, that that other person has the
opportunity to say, I want to stay in the seat by myself or I resign as well. And then an expedited election will have to take place to fill that vacancy. Terms of office. This is important
especially with president's councils because I see this happen a lot. Your term starts July 1st and ends June 30th of the following year. Okay. What this means is that as of June
30th, you are no longer the executive board of the PAPA President's Council. After that day, if you did not host any elections, it is the district or
principal's responsibility to convene the meeting, send out the agendas, things of that nature about that election that will take place. This is only when we're doing fall
elections, not spring, because it's after June 30th. Just want to make that um that sure. Um and then term limits. Term limits just restricts the number of terms a person can serve and that will
be stated on your bylaws. If there's no term limits on your bylaws, then you can run as long as you have a child in the school. So, as I said before, uh, spring elections time frames usually happen,
um, April 1st to the last day of school. One thing that is important is that the executive board notifies the principal by April 1st of when the election will happen. Expedited elections are anything. So,
there's a couple of reasons why you would hold an expedited election if something could not be filled by succession if you have that in your bylaws as we spoke about before. Um, uh, establishing a new PTA for a new school
or re-establishing a PTA because you're missing positions, um, or didn't hold any meetings or anything of that nature. So this is one of the most important things that I want you to take away from
today. Representatives or designate when it comes to um so let's before we go back there the PTA president is the mandatory member on
the president's council. If that president cannot join the president's council meeting, they have to appoint a member of their membership. So, a
member um to then fill or be that representative. However, before that happens, you have to make sure that the general membership approves of that appointee, right? And you do that at a general
membership meeting um by voting. So you make a motion, you vote. Um all everything that I just mentioned must be mentioned in the minutes of that meeting. Why? Because if it is president's council
uh rep, they're going to ask for those minutes to show that either the rep has changed or it is not the the president so that we can send out the meeting links to you. So one other important thing that that
representative if it's not the president, it must state that on your PAPA's election certification form. Now we're going to go into the president's council. Um basically
um the president's council unites all PTAs to share best breast practices to do trainings uh to collaborate with the superintendent um and represents all the PTAs citywide.
President's Council um eligibility. To be on President's Council, you need to be a president of a PTA or a rep like we spoke about earlier. The mandatory members are the same as the PTA
unless you do not have a bank account. If you do not have a bank account, you do not need a treasurer. But some people still keep it. That's fine as well. The term for uh president's council is
the same. It's a one-year term as you see here. And the same applies for term limits. So election time frame for president's council. So president's council should be elected by the 30th of June.
Um, the superintendent must be notified of the election that is about to take place by June 1st. If the election is not completed by June 30th, again, the superintendent
will convene the meeting by September 30th. So, that is the deadline date to have completed a president's council election. However, there are cases where they can't make quorum and things like
that where it may proceed into the other months. So, this is um membership as well. Um, so as I said before, the president council president is also appoint.
However, it has to be approved by vote by the general membership and recorded in the minutes and president's council election certification form. And then last but not least is the citywide level, which we're not going to
get into today. Um, but basically that represents all the president's councils within the district. Um, they they help advise or influence DOE policies and decision- making. Um, and basically, uh,
take information from the top and trickle it down to their PAPAs. Thank you. I know I went quick um because we were pressed for time. However, um I will take any questions if
you have. Let me stop sharing my screen. >> If you have questions for Anthony, please use the raise hand feature at the bottom of your screen. Um there's a question in the chat. What is the best practice when an elected PAP executive board member refuses to resign but also
refuses to participate, won't speak with the board, and hasn't attended meetings for months? How should one proceed according to A660? >> Yeah. So you can the general membership can basically uh create a committee to review
um to make sure that the whoever that role is was not following the uh roles and responsibilities of that job. Um that committee will review all that information. Um so that's created in one meeting and then in the
next meeting the general membership will vote to remove that member. Um that's only in the cases that they do not want to resign or um if issues have happened uh that there is physical threat or they
haven't been following the roles and responsibilities outlined in the regs and your bylaws. Usually, just to add to what Anthony said, usually in the bylaws, it does have somewhere that states that if you don't attend so many meetings, whether
it's consecutive or or otherwise, that they can be removed. So, if they're not there for attendance, that's why attendance is so important because you should be marking people, especially in your minutes. It should be recorded whether people are excused or not excused because if you just mark them as
absent, then it's really not accurate. you don't know if they were excused or abs or unexcused. So, in your minutes, you should state um whether they're excused or unexcused. Ashley, you have a question? >> I do. Um what if number one, what if you
have um incomplete bylaws that have been shared with council members? Um and how I guess how can FLC's be better supported with ensuring
um that the members actually attend the meetings. So for example um you know uh from from what I have gone through um
you know I have uh an FLC who basically is like well if the parents can't make the president's council meetings you know we don't have a right to force them we can't really say that these are mandatory and then that's exactly why form ends up
not being met um and like I said there's also income complete bylaws. So everything keeps changing um without any um anything being beneficial. So I'm not sure how you know what to do.
>> Okay. So for the first question that you asked if your bylaws are incomplete, chancellor's regulation is the document that you should be referring to then um until the document or bylaws are amended.
Um, as you said, parent leaders are autonomous. We can't force them to go to meetings. However, um, when you don't, they have roles and responsibilities. Um, and as we stated before, if they're not meeting their roles and responsibilities, they can be removed.
That's the that's the the last resort. Um, but every effort should be made to try to communicate with the individual to see what's going on. Maybe there's a family issue. Um maybe they just can't go to the meeting. And that's when you
get the rep. It's okay to designate or to uh appoint a rep to go to the meetings for you. That's why they're there. Um and that's why we should use it. We should make sure, however, that they're going through the proper uh
protocol to select um or appoint that designate. >> Got it. And what if the FLC or President's Council does not know or have that information to do that?
>> What information? They don't know how to appoint somebody. Well, it's the the the council that should be doing that, not the FLC. The FLC should know the process though to support their their their district council if need be. Um but it
is because president's councils and PTAs are autonomous bodies, they should be doing that work themselves. >> So um if the parent has not like they have no experience that this is like their first time, so they don't know, they don't have that information. Um,
and that's why I mentioned FLC because they support President's Council with um, you know, making sure they have those bylaws fully completely done and being able to support President's Council completely. However, um,
some FLC's do not um, do that. So, president's councils are unable to run correctly and and actually um you know hold like just hold to the titles that they have so that they can you know
do their their roles you know the way they're supposed to. >> So luckily they have you that you can advocate for for them. you can bring them the FLT to CPAC for support or um to us at face for support um and we can
go through the process with them um and ensuring that they know how to support their presidents councils and PTAs within their district. >> Got it. Thank you. >> Any other questions? Okay. So, if there's no other questions,
we'd just like to thank you all for being here um for your dedication to our children. Um we'd like to wish everyone and their families a happy Thanksgiving and we look forward to seeing you at our next meeting on December 11th.
Would someone like to make a motion to adjourn the meeting? >> I'd like to make a motion to adjourn this meeting. Thank you, Melissa. Second by Samuel. >> Thank you, uh, Remma. All right, everyone, have a great day. I'm going to stop the live stream.