##VIDEO ID:https://vimeo.com/1051573944## Thank you. So we have a quo and we'll begin official business now. Um, our chancellor is en route, so we'll suspend that and we'll come back to the chancellor. We also won't be approving minutes. We had a, just had a meeting last week, so those minutes are still being prepared and we'll, so we'll approve the minutes, um, at our February meeting. Um, so they, we won't have a motion to, uh, to address the minutes. Um, we're gonna move right into, um, the business portion of the meeting. Um, I'd like to just make a few comments with regard to, um, the procedure we'll be following for the business portion of the, uh, meeting. Um, I just wanna remind, as I said, people of the rules of the, um, will be allocating if you wish to speak on any public question. Um, that's coming, that's before the panel tonight. Um, what will happen is our secretary will call forward, um, speakers in groups of five during public comment. Everyone who is signed up to speak will be allocated up to two and a half minutes. The clock will indicate the amount of time remaining for each speaker, and a light will flash when there is one minute remaining. So the speakers will know that it's their time to wrap up. Additional time will be allowed, uh, will be provided to help facilitate comments that may require public translation. Um, at the end of each, uh, speaker's time, we will move on to the next speaker. If a speaker is not present when their name is called, we will move on to the next speaker. Once we've done so, you will not be able to redeem your place in the queue. This portion of public, uh, comment is only for agenda items being voted on at tonight's meeting. If you accidentally signed up to comment during this section, but wish to comment on ma other matters, please see one of the, uh, DOE department staff that are in the audience, um, and they'll assist you with into, uh, speak. Moving into the correct section. Comments during these, um, sections should only relate to the motion or resolution that is currently under consideration. Um, having said that, we'll now move to the contracts. Uh, the first item on the agenda, wait, where We have a student signed up to speak? Oh, oh, we do. Okay. We have a student signed up, so we'll move to student comments first. Thank you. Uh, the student speaker is Sabina Gomez. Uh, hi Sabina. Welcome to the panel Practice. Sorry. No, no. Take your time. If you want, we can move on to the next speaker and then come back. Would you want us to do that, or how do you want, however you want to do this. We, we'll wait. Okay. Yeah, yeah. We'll make a, a vi We'll call you back. Just remind, we'll call you back up and, um, give an opportunity for her to speak. Sure, no problem. Now we have the pro. Okay. Um, good evening everybody. Um, my name is Lala Torres. Um, I'm here to say something about school lunch and busing. So, for starters, I'm in fifth grade. I don't have a bus. I got one for like one year. When my brother was in fifth grade, he graduated. I don't have a bus anymore. He has an IEP. So automatically he gets one. I live about two and a half miles outta the district, so I don't have a bus. So because of that, every morning my parents have to take me to school by themselves. And my dad's off on Wednesdays and Thursdays. So he takes me. Then my mom takes me Mondays and Tuesdays and Fridays. But if I don't leave the house by seven 10, I miss the train. And either I go to school late or have to take a cab, which is about 20 to $30. And if I take a cab two times a week in a month, that's about $120. Not including the ride back that my parents have to take home, to be completely honest, who here wants to spend around $120 to take their kids to school? Thank you. Um, so I've been in the school for about seven years. Don't have a bus still. Um, I don't understand how it's fair that kids who live close to the school who can walk to school like two blocks away, get a bus. And transportation's supposed to make things easier, get there faster, but we have to pay for transportation. Time is money. Um, we have to pay for it. And the kids who could just walk to school, They, They can get a bus. But people who need it can't, doesn't make any sense to me. I also have transportation anxiety. It's hard for me to go on the bus and mostly the train I proposed that kids outta district should still be able to get a bus. Next, everybody knows it. About seven 95% of kids don't like school lunch. Um, I constantly get people asking since I'm student council president, can we change the lunch? Can we change the lunch? Um, and I have people constantly coming to my school. Yes, they're checking the food. It might solve the problems with moldy or frozen food, but it's not changing the food at all. Can we have the staff actually taste the food that they're making because the kids say it's disgusting. Um, we should do a list of foods that the kids can see, which one they like more. Not like Wendy's and McDonald's. And we could do a survey that kids can see what they can have and what's available that they like. Thank you for your time. Thank You. Are there any other student speakers? Good. Been joined by other panel. I think we've been joined by Maisha. Oh, And Also Anthony Giordano. Hello, my name is Sina. Go miss. I start school when I was stay at PS one 70. I am in second grade on the student council. We want third grade at our school. We have nice teachers, we have good lunch teachers. They all help kids learn. They want us to be smart and kind. Please will Yes to us giving third grade so we can stay in our school in PS one 70. Good job. Sabina sab. Is that Sabina's Mom? Sabina. Sabina, thank you you for coming and speaking to the Panel for Education Policy. Really appreciated your comments, so thank you very much. Um, we're also joined by member Amy Fair. Okay. As we now move into the, uh, business portion of the meeting, um, the first items will be considered as the consideration of contracts. And I'll ask our secretary to please present the contracts with consideration. Um, the resolution up for approval this evening is entitled Resolution to Enter into Contracts. Wait, so you wanna have the speaker? Yeah. Give a chance. We'll let the Chancellor speak. Hi, welcome Chancellor. Um, you want to give you an opportunity to speak? If you want to, we can move and do the contract. Do you want to settle for a minute? You wanna speak now? Okay. So I'm gonna welcome Chancellor to our meeting. Cha Chancellor. Welcome. Thanks. What was that? Is it, is it work? I Think so, yep. We're working out. Good evening everyone. Uh, thank you so much. Uh, chair Faulkner, vice Chair Green, and all of the pet members and everyone who's here tonight. Um, apologies. Uh, I know that, um, you know, I, I don't, I don't normally show up at this time. I'm normally here far earlier and I'm here for much longer. But I am on my way to Albany. I will be testifying in front of our state elected officials tomorrow, uh, regarding our budget. Uh, very excited to do that, but it takes, uh, a lot of preparation. And so I'm going up there tonight and I have to, uh, testify as early as nine o'clock in the morning. So I, uh, I thank you for your grace and your patience, but it was important for me to be here with you tonight and share some updates. So, first I wanna thank, uh, our host here at the Vander Child Campus. Uh, this campus means a great deal to me, having spent my time as a district leader, a deputy superintendent and acting superintendent. This school was part of my portfolio, and I know all the work that it takes for these principals, um, to really build a strong community and to work in close concert with their local elected officials, their parent leaders. And so thank you so much to the principals and to superintendent deans, um, who, who leads with his heart and this district means a great deal to him. So I wanna thank him for his leadership as well. Uh, we're not far into the new year, but it has certainly been a jam packed few weeks here at New York City Public Schools. We launched our applications for CCEC elections and encourage all of our families to learn more and consider applying to run for a CEC seat. We had the state of the city where the mayor announced our new Future Ready partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering, among other exciting programs and partnerships. And the governor gave her state of the state, and as I'll be testifying about her proposed budget up in Albany tomorrow, sharing our perspectives on issues raised in the budget, like the Foundation aid funding formula, the proposed cell phone ban, and early college credits. These are all amazing opportunities for New York City Public schools, but we need the right funding to be able to implement them. And we need the right funding to be able to continue standing up the great programs that we do here at New York City Public Schools. We also celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day last week, commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday, and have Lunar New Year coming up tomorrow. So, happy lunar New Year to all who celebrate. And I was glad to attend a terrific Lunar New Year event over the weekend with State Senator Lou, where students from PS 2 0 3 in Queens performed in our current environment. I also wanna be clear, New York City Public Schools is committed to serving every single student regardless of immigration status, national origin or religion. And I am grateful to our partners in the Panel for Education Policy who are in lockstep with us in this commitment. Over the last few weeks, we have provided know their rights trainings for staff, including principals, superintendents, social workers, guidance counselors, and parent coordinators. And these trainings are a vital part of our ongoing efforts to ensure that every member of our school community feels informed, supported, and safe. I also wanna note our support also extends to our LGBTQ plus students and staff. Please know we welcome every student at New York City Public Schools. We stand behind our commitment to ensuring that every student can participate in sports, and we will not exclude any students from any programs. I wanna close with a note of appreciation to the pep, their dedication and commitment to all kids, and for participating in back-to-back meetings this month. I look forward to continuing our partnership and pursuing our shared goal of serving the children of New York City. And before I leave, I also wanna thank my, my team for holding it down while I am heading up to Albany. Uh, but true to form, gotta wear a Bronx hoodie while I sit up here with all of you. 'cause you know, the Bronx girl always has to wrap the Bronx. Um, and I also want to thank my dear colleague, deputy Chancellor Rux, for sitting up here, uh, and, and, and filling in for me while I, while I'm in a two and a half, uh, hour drive. Uh, but, uh, trust when I tell you that, um, I know many of you would think that I wouldn't rather be here at pep with you instead of stuck in a car for two and a half hours. But I promise you, I'd rather be here with you, um, talking about important matters than in a car. But, um, thank you. I appreciate your support and, uh, I will let you all know how it goes in Albany. Thank you. Great. Thank you very much, chancellor. I want to thank you. You're welcome. I'm, I'm gonna recognize you, Tom. Um, oops. Yes. I mean, I am and recognize you, Alicia, but your panel member, I want you to, um, please recognize you for some comments. Thank you. This thing on, all right, so I, boom, my voice is booming. So, um, chancellor, I wanted to, um, uh, say thank you. Um, you weren't, you know, I wanted to say this to you last week, but I want to say to you personally, thank you, um, uh, on January 10th, um, there was a really big fire, um, at 29 10 Wallace Avenue, which is just a few blocks from here. And, um, you know, you came through and the DOE really came through like school showed up and, you know, went into their, went into their pantries and went into their supply closets and opened the, their school doors and, and really supported parents, um, that literally had to run out of a building at like one o'clock in the morning with their children and their clothes on their backs. And, um, you showed up and you spent time, um, with these families just giving them some comfort. And that means a lot to us. And I wanted to just say thank you. Um, I also just want to add to that, um, that many of those, uh, families do attend New York City public schools. And, um, they are in a state of disarray right now. And, uh, my ask is if we can continue to personally connect with those parents as they move throughout this process, um, to ensure that their, um, children continue to have, um, access to their schools and their teachers, um, and the things that they need in order to be able to not just survive but flourish. But, you know, that aside, I really just wanted to thank you. Uh, I wanted to thank Senator Bailey and assembly members of Carro Council member Riley Borough, president Gibson as well, for really coming through and just making sure, um, that our families were taken care of and supported. So, thank you very much. Thank you. I agree. Well, well, well stated. Yes. Absolutely. I'm so sorry. I just really quickly wanna respond. So first of all, panel member Shiva, thank you so much. But the, the thanks, while I appreciated it, it actually really goes to our council member, our assembly member, our senator, our borough president, um, and really the principal, uh, and the assistant principal, the deputy superintendent, and the superintendent. I was so proud of the fact that the superintendent was pulled for a, a training and the principal, uh, was pulled for something else. And the assistant principal and the deputy super really, really held it down. And that just speaks to sustainable leadership, right? Like, that's why we have people in place to, to, to be ready to step up when we need to. So the, the praise and the thanks goes to them. Um, I, I will say that immediately we pulled the data, that same warning on the number of families that were impacted. We immediately activated, you know, on our community schools and our, uh, students in temporary housing team. Um, the, the, the silver lining to this is that, um, I, I know this district, like it's my home. You know, this is, this is where I grew up as a baby teacher and did all my work. And so I work very closely with all the elected officials, uh, their dear, dear friends, the community, the outpouring from you, from Rema, from everybody to really step up and support. And I can't say enough about superintendent Deans is leadership. He's been with this district for a number of years. And so I say all this to say that this family that we have created here in Bronx High school districts, eight, 10, and 11, uh, we stand up together. And so I know that we're gonna be able to deliver for those families. We are gonna make sure that we keep in touch with those families. And to all of you, if you hear something, you need something like dial, dial, direct, like we are listening, you can reach out to your superintendent, reach out to your panel members, reach out to us, and we will make sure that we continue to support those families. And that doesn't only mean it for the Bronx. That means it for every other district here in New York City. We can only support what we know, right? And we can't know everything. So to the extent that you know something, you see something, please stay in touch with us so that way we can be there for families. And I wanna give a special thanks because we're here in the Bronx to you and Rema, because that's what you do. You don't care what time it is, you don't care what's going on. You will text me, you will call me, you will find me. And you've been doing that my entire, my entire career for nearly 20 years. So, so thank you. Keep going and encourage everybody else to keep doing it. Have a good night and I'll, I'll see you all soon. Panel Member, I think panel member, uh, Garcia. Yes, please. Those of us from Brooklyn, I can hear you. We know that we are doing a lot for the young people because they are in our school system. But if there's anything that I personally can do for mothers, because sometimes mothers need a, after a fire, they have not. That's right. So if there's anything we could do for mothers, please let let me know. Thank you for that. Thank you Madam Member. And as you're lead, as you're walking out, chance, I'll just say this, that while you shared the, the, um, the accolade, it's the leader that sets the tone and you set a tone of service. And I think that that is very clear in what we're saying today, and we wanted you to know that it is not gone unnoticed. So appreciate it. And safe trip. Thank You everyone. Yes. Point of information. Point of information, yes. Point. Where can we get the chancellor's merch? How can we buy the merch? Okay, so we'll return to the exciting of business of contracts. I mean, I'm sorry. Um, okay. So the resolution up for approval tonight is entitled Resolution Contracts. However, in item number 10, we are withdrawing j and r tours limited from consideration this evening. The other items within that number are staying on the calendar. Thank you. Okay. Is there a motion to consider the contracts, um, as was presented? So moved. Is there a second to motion? Second. Second. Second. Okay. We'll now proceed to discussion. Uh, first public comment and then we'll move to panel member comment. Uh, there's no one signed up to speak on contracts. Okay. Uh, we'll then move on to panel member comments. Are there any panel members who wish to, uh, comment with regard to any of the contracts up for consideration? Yes. Panel member. Thank you. Um, I would like to, um, take this opportunity, um, during the contracts portion of this evening's agenda, um, to address some false and misleading statements that were made at the meeting last Wednesday regarding the supposed role. Our office plays in contract payment delays. And that pertains to all of the contracts on tonight's agenda, as well as all of the contracts that the pep votes on. Contrary to, um, chair Faulkner's statements, our office plays absolutely no role in payment delays because we do not process any payments to vendors from DOE, nor does our office write any checks to doe's vendors. A fact that D-O-E-D-O-E is well aware of and supported by the declaration that was made by our office's General counsel on July 19th, 2023, under penalty of perjury in federal court. In response to these types of inaccurate statements that have been alleged by the department, the comptroller plays a very specific charter mandated role in the contract process. For the contracts that are on the agenda tonight, for example, the charter prescribes a mandated 30 day calendar day timeframe within which our office is required to complete its review of items filed by agencies like DOE with our office for registration. This timeframe is the only timeframe that any city agency is required to complete for any step of the procurement process. This mandated timeframe means that if a contract is registered late or vendors are paid late, that is not because our registration process was late per the charter mandate, we are never late. And in fact, our average lead time has resulted, resulted in actions being reviewed in a much shorter timeframe than 30 days. On the other hand, DOE holds itself accountable to no timeframes. And the publicly available data on our office's checkbook website, as well as in published reports, backs up its poor performance in timely registering contracts with our office, which directly impedes and compounds the agency's ability to pay its vendors on time. Since fiscal year 2022, there has never been a year where more than 9% of doe's contracts were registered on time. In other words, before the vendor's contract start date. Because the DOE is late submitting contracts to our office, since fiscal year 23, more than four in 10 DOE contracts have been submitted to our office so late and untimely that even with our quicker than mandated lead time, they end up registered more than six months late in fiscal year. 23, 70% of its MWBE small purchase contracts were self registered by DOE. After the vendor's start date. In fiscal year 24, 90 3% of DOE contracts were registered after the contract start date had passed. Because of late submissions to our office, the fiscal year 24 retroactivity rates for contracts are even worse, that DOE self registered pursuant to the MWB small purchase method. All but two of the 41 contracts, or 95% of those self registered contracts were registered after the start date. So far in this fiscal year, less than 5% of doe's contracts were registered on time, or within 30 days of the vendor's contract start date. Due to late submission to our office for registration, two thirds of D-O-E-M-W-B-E small purchase contracts were self registered late. The most recent MWBE small purchase contract was submitted to our office more than six months after the vendor's start date and the date when this panel approved the contract. I hope that this clarifies once and for all that, number one, our office plays no role in processing payments or writing checks to DOE vendors. And I hope that everyone on this panel can share that when you get outreach from vendors, that it is not the comptroller's office that writes checks or processes payments. And number two, that contract and payment delays are not caused by our office. Our mandated registration authority is exercised in the prescribed 30 day timeframe for every contract, and often much sooner than 30 days if there are delays. That is on DOE. Thank you. Thank you. Any other panel members? Council Member Shepherd. Thank you, chair Faulkner. Um, uh, Ms. Law, I wanna say thank you for the clarification. Um, I do think it is important when we are, um, reviewing and approving contracts that, um, that we understand as well as the public exactly what that process looks like. And, um, uh, at the end of the day, the important part here is, um, a lot of these vendors are, um, MWBE firms and smaller firms, uh, that do rely on timely payments, uh, in order to be able to function. I've heard, and many of us over the years have heard from, um, uh, programs like three K pre-K programs, how they weren't getting paid on time, getting paid on time, and the impact, uh, to them being able to provide services for our young people. Um, and many of us, uh, have said over the years that we wanted to make sure that that process was, uh, clear, um, that it was timely so that, um, vendors did not have to do things like take out loans, uh, in order to be able to, um, provide necessary services to the Department of Education. So again, I just wanted to say thank you for the clarification. And, um, you know, and, and I come with the same ask that, uh, any contract that we pass, um, uh, we need to do better to make sure that those contracts are submitted and, um, processed and, uh, registered in a timely way so that, uh, vendors that provide services for our schools can do so, um, without financial hardship. Thank you, Jeff. I yield back. Thank, Thank you panel member. Are there any other comments? Panel member Casre. Thank You. Um, I just also want to thank panel member LA um, for her thorough explanation of how the process works. There were many, many parents who, uh, advocated for the comptroller to have a seat on the pep for this very reason, to elevate the transparency and ensure that, um, this panel and the contracts and the DOE were all doing what they were supposed to be doing and make sure that we understood the rules. And so I think, um, that is exactly what happened today. And thank you so much for the greater understanding of how this system works. Thank you. Thank you. Panel member. Are any additional comments from panel members? Are we then ready to vote on the contracts that were presented? So I guess we can, uh, have a call the roll Secretary. Yeah, I will call the role. Um, if there's any particular contract item that you wanna vote differently on, please let me know. When I call your name. Um, uh, member Ali, say yes. Member Arnold? Yes. Member bin Yes to all. Member Boad. Member Retti? Yes. To all member Dean Stag? Yes. To all member Fair? Yes. To all Member Garcia? Yes. To all Member Giordano? Yes. To all Vice Chair Green? Yes. To all Member Hassan? Yes. To all member Who? Yes. To all Member Esto? Yes. To all. Uh, member meme? Yes. To all member Awin. To all. Um, member sap? Yes. To all Member Shepherd? Yes. To all. Um, and Chair Faulkner? Yes. To all. Did I miss anybody? Make sure no one showed up. And so, the, um, resolution passes unanimously. 18 votes in favor. Great. The next items are, uh, proposals for, uh, school utilization. And, uh, secretary Nathan, would you please introduce the resolution? Yes. The resolution of for approval is entitled Resolution to Approve Changes in School School Utilization, which Comprises Item the following item, the proposed grade expansion of PS 1 70 0 9 X one 70 from a K through two school to a K through five school in building X one 70, beginning in the 20 25, 20 26 school year. Okay. Is there a motion to, um, consider the resolution so moved? Second, second. Second. The moved. And second, it will consider these resolutions. Um, before we begin public comment, I'd like to invite the superintendent to, uh, please come forward if they would like to present any, uh, testimony. Welcome. Welcome, superintendent. Good evening. Members of the pep, I'm Harry Sherman, superintendent of School District nine. Uh, you heard from the student Sabina, she spoke also at the Joint Public hearing, and she speaks on behalf of all of the PS one 70 community. We've heard nothing but support for this proposal. PS one 70 currently serves pre-K to grades two. In our district, we've done the analysis, we have the space. We understand that there will be no impact on other schools. Currently, when students articulate from grade two, they have to go to another school. What happens there is that students have to attend multiple elementary schools before transitioning to middle school, which has adverse effect on our students. More importantly, the students of PS one 70, the families of PS one 70, love their school, love their teachers, and want the opportunity to participate in the regular grade band that the rest of students in New York City public schools have access to. I appreciate your support of this proposal. Okay, so we'll now move to public comment. There are two signed up for this proposal. There are two speakers signed up for this proposal. Um, Gladys Gomez and Beatriz Soso Rodriguez, if you could make your way down to the microphone. Thank you. My name is Gladys Gomez. I am going to be splitting my time in two because I played two roles with this wonderful school. First and foremost, I am the proud parent, and that married me saying it twice. I am the proud parent of Sabina Gomez, who stood up here and spoke to you all. What you don't know about Sabina? Sabina was a preemie child. Sabina is an IEP student. Sabina is in a 12 to one to one class. So for me as a parent, for her to stand up here and tell you, because she wrote her speech, she wrote it, she practiced it, because this is what not only she wants, it's what her classmates wants, it's what her community wants. I'm also the proud parent coordinator of PS one 70. Prior to being the parent coordinator, was that parent leader that was knocking on the principal's door, asking for a meeting, asking why we did not have third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade. Now I'm hearing parents knocking on my door, my door asking why we don't have third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade. Please vote yes so that we can go and celebrate on Thursday. The importance of our children staying in this building means the world to them. We have former students that still come back because this is their home. This is where they took their first steps as students. We have our three K babies who believe you me, they know that building up, down, and sideways. And we have our second grade teachers that know those three K children. We wanna stay there with them to help them flourish and be as amazing as we know they can be. Please vote yes so that we can go ahead and see these students become all they can be. Thank you so much. And Beatrice, SOA Rodriguez, are you here? That is the extent of the public signup. So that, uh, concludes our public comment at this point. Um, as is our custom, we'll now hear from panel members and first we'll hear from panel members, uh, from the Bronx. We have several panel members from the Bronx. And, uh, so we'll begin. I guess we'll begin with seniority. So that means we'll begin with Panel member Shepherd. He's not, he? No, no, no. He, he's, he's the longest serving panel member, so, but I wanna be careful there. He is the longest serving panel member from the Bronx. So we'll begin with Panel Gray gave it away. Say it again. Did the gray Give it away? Well, I'm trying to bail. I'm trying to It's all good work at you here, you know, it's all Good. Yeah. Um, thank you Chair Faulkner. Um, I wanna say thank you to, um, district nine for their work on this. Um, over the years, uh, it seems that the remaining schools in this system that were like K to two schools lived in District nine. Um, uh, few years ago it was, um, uh, PS 88. And you know, right now it's, it's one 70. And, uh, uh, superintendent Sherman is absolutely right that, um, you know, having a school that's K to two instead of a K to five in this environment does serve, um, uh, as a disadvantage to, um, neighborhoods where, um, students will end up moving a couple of times in their elementary school experience. Um, I also wanted to, um, you know, just add that, you know, there was Universal, um, approval from the community, um, around this particular proposal. And while we were sitting here, my phone was going off, like, Tom, make sure they vote. Yes, I, I could vote for me, but, you know, um, I'm just going to implore all of you to, uh, please vote to approve this proposal. And the last thing I want to do is I do want to, um, acknowledge, uh, Gladys Gomez, um, uh, you know, a long time, uh, you know, I'm gonna say servant of her community in District nine. Um, you know, parent coordinator, now, proud parent, also served on CC nine. And, um, you know, really, um, has done a lot for, um, district nine, uh, students, uh, families and school communities. So, uh, thank you Gladys, and, uh, thank you District nine for, um, your work in this. And, uh, I will be voting yes on this proposal. Thank you. Chair Walker. Thank you very much. Senior Panel Member Shepherd. Uh, I guess we'll go down the row panel in Biscaro, uh, you'd be next. I just wanna say thank you, Sabina, for getting through it. I know that it's hard and I don't know if this panel remembers the first time I was here with my daughter, who was the other student speaker. Um, but it was the exact same experience, probably for like three months straight. So, thank you, Sabina. Your voice matters. I'm sure everybody here heard you. Um, I will be voting yes, and I am very happy to be here in support of your school's proposal. Thank you. Thank you. Panel member fair. You're also from the Bronx? Yes, we are. That's right. I'm a proud, proud. Can y'all hear me okay? Yeah, good evening everyone. Um, I was at the hearing with my colleagues, um, I really wanna say, give a shout to the parents and the students. We heard from one student as we heard this evening, but at the hearing, so many students have spoke out very eloquently, very excited. The parents, the teacher, it was very enlightening, especially that we are in trouble times. It was very motivating to hear that. Um, I just took a couple of notes and I totally support. First is the most important. I support this initiative because I do believe that still students can build stronger relationships. I'm a single parent. I know what it's like to have a great superintendent who's here tonight, Marcel Deans. I know what it's like to have, uh, teachers who work well with our students who have, um, who's able to foster just a nurturing environment. And I know what it's like when a student doesn't wanna leave. So it's really important. And if a student can connect with their teachers and their school administration and stay longer, uh, for continuity, for continuing to build relationships and just continue fostering a learning environment that's really conducive for the student, let them stay. So this is something that's really, really important. I support it. I'm excited for this, and I hope that we can continue showing, uh, using this actually as an example of what a partnership looks like between school leadership, parents and students. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Panel member Fair. And guess what? I'm a panel member from the Bronx, so I'm gonna recognize myself, um, just, just for two seconds to say thank you. And I think this is the way that these, these should be conducted. And, um, you know, I wanna thank the superintendent, the leadership, uh, and the way that this has been presented. Um, and, uh, obviously I think sometimes the public believes that we sort of get these proposals right just before the meeting and we vote on them, but there's generally a lot of work. This, I'm sure there were visits and other work that goes into, uh, approving these. And, uh, so I want to thank the utilization team, the DOE team out there who, who've guided and helped to put this work together. I wanna thank the panel members. I know that you devoted in some cases, hours of work to, uh, arrive at the decision that you made. So I want you to know that that's not a notice and we appreciate it. And, uh, and that would then end my comments and just to say thank you. Um, so are there any other panel members who are not fortunate enough to be from the Bronx who wish to comment? I guess we're beating this to death now. I gotta stop. Oh wait, honey, I'm, I'm hearing again myself. Okay. Any other panel members wish to comment Represent Brooklyn? Yes. I mean, was raised in Brooklyn. I represent Queens here, but I was born in Lincoln Hospital, so I believe that that makes me a, a Bronx girl, at least for today. Can I make a, a general comment? Is that okay or should I hold that for later? Yeah, because that's the process. I mean, is it, if it's not related to the item, we hold the public to that. Totally. Thank you. But I'll recognize you. We'll come back to you and you'll thank you. Yes. You'll be able to do that. Um, any other comments related to, um, okay. I guess, are we ready for a vote? Let's, let's proceed to vote Panel members, when I call your name, please indicate how you wish to vote. Um, member Ali, say yes. Member Arnold? Yes. Member bin? Yes. Member Boad. Yes. Member Retti. Uh, I approve. Member Dean Stag. Yes. Member Fair? Yes. Member Garcia? Yes. Member Hirano. Yes. Vice Chair Green? Yes. Uh, member Hassan? Yes. Member Ho. Yes. Member is scared though. Yes. Member Mira May. Yes. Member Owin. Yes. Member? Oh no. Member Sap. Yes. Member Shepherd. Yes. And Chair Faulkner? Yes. And so the resolution passes unanimously via vote of 18. In favor. Great. Thank you. Congratulations. And, and to the team that came from the school, congratulations for your, for your work as well and, uh, and making your presentation. Thank you so much. Uh, we will now move to general, uh, public comment if anyone signed up for general public comments. Yeah. We have two speakers signed up for general public comment. Luis Diaz and Dr. Fred Monon. And you can make your way down to the microphone or up to the microphone. Hmm. Who's Gomez? Yeah. Good evening. I'm Dr. Fred Mon, retired school teacher, 26 years from District 17 in Brooklyn. I've been very concerned about reading and the decline of reading scores. Uh, I've created a new strategy to address this problem. Uh, I'm going to introduce two new concepts today this evening. One is called the Reading Strategy, and the second is intellectual autonomy. I have created a 12 volume set of reading strategies and, uh, that, uh, if I may read this, um, this book, all 12 volumes, has been, pardon me, my, where my bicycle has been released as among many other books on Amazon. This effort designed to uplift America's youth beginning in their earlier stages that they be prepared for, for future challenges, clotted in intellectual autonomy. And so it is indeed a powerful tool of analysis and comprehension in further in intent. This book, it's called Empower Your Child's Reading, is a learning readings exercise that is designed to engage young and open American mind seeking to master reading for implo, exploring African history foundations, while strengthening their intellectual re resolve to tackle and decode complex issues. These students will, and I have these 10 bullets. One, they will read the text published in several New York City newspapers. I took about 90 of my articles in the newspapers and I reconstructed them. They will, uh, have discovery questions and discussion questions. There will be captions to photographs to the many photographs that seek to visually reinforce cultural history and to encourage art and architecture. Even for, Excuse me, sir, I, I almost hate to do this, but unfortunately your time has expired. However, He's got two minutes. You had two minutes. It goes quickly when you're up there. I understand that. So here's what we'll do. Um, and I see that some of the is that some of the sign is yours. Yes. Yeah. So what I'd like you to do is maybe after the meeting, if you could touch base with folks because it, to rush it, you know, it's not gonna be fair. So, um, if you could just after the meeting, connect with somebody and we can go have a more thorough kind of look at what you're talking about. No Problem. Thank you Very much for your time. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm very reluctant to do it 'cause I am interested. I think one of the things we've talked about at DOE is an initiative to teach the kids to read. And I think when I joined the panel, one of the very first things the chancellor mentioned was someone who used to stand out in front of Tweed, um, and talk about, teach the kids to read, was there rain at night? I just, that always stuck with me. So let's, let's follow up afterwards. Thank you. Sure. Thank you for coming. Okay. Next speaker. Uh, Luis Diaz. Right here. Good evening all. Why is New York City DOE protecting school abusers and bullies? My name is retired army Luis Di Diaz, the third. I am here as a father of a 9-year-old nonverbal special needs child who deserves the same safety, respect, and dignity as any other child. Yet my son was physically abused multiple times while attending 5 96 x on March 8th, 2024. We had no choice but to remove him from the environment. He came home with bruises in his groin area. This was in a six one-to-one classroom under full supervision of a personal health para and four adults. To this day, we have not been told who is responsible for hurting my son. Mandated reporters are supposed to be trusted, are refusing to cooperate with dis with the district attorney. This sign lacks accountability is horrifying, but the negligence and misconduct didn't stop there. Principal John Syracuse retaliated considered with falsified documentation of my son son's home instruction papers, his administration towards my name on assisted device evaluation, violating my son's HIPAA rights, cancel his tri-annual evaluations allow negative and harmful language being inserted in his IEP. All was done while we would have a recorded meeting with Superintendent Cutler while were his choices worse, he can't do anything. I'm here to demand answers. I want to know why. Who were my son. I want to know why Princess Syracuse and others involved and not being held responsible for their actions. If the DOE consists to protect child abuse and bullies, I will take matters into my own hands. Let me be clear. I will conduct my own investigation. I will knock on doors and I will inform every neighbor of the staff involved what happened under their care. I'll giving an ultimatum, find out who hurt my son and five principals, John Syracuse. 'cause he's doing that with other parents. Have a good day, Sir. I I'd like you to remain for a second. Can we have some DOE somebody follow up because I think Oh, they did. Have you made con tonight? Have you made, oh yeah. Okay. Transplant. So, so, we'll we, we'll look into this. I think what, you know, any, anytime that we put a child at risk, that's something that we definitely want to, And I came here last actually in June, and I spoke to Ms. Col, Ms. Lloyd. Okay. We still haven't heard anything until now, until I intervened with the Chancellor. Yeah. So I'm just letting you know that person was still in that school or hurt my son multiple times. It's still at that school, probably hurting another child. And guess what? I'm a, I'm a children from services. We're, we're gonna follow. I don't, you know, we're gonna follow up. I'm letting you because you've now thank and, and thank you. I know you brought it, you brought it to the panel. Mm-hmm. And I'm, and I'm telling you the panel will do some follow up please to see exactly what happened, um, in order to, it's for children. So you have information. No, we hear you. We hear you. Okay. Thank you very much. And by the way, I'm sorry for what happened to your son. Alright. Okay. So we'll, but we'll definitely follow up with think it has to be done. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. We'll now proceed to, um, panel member comments, panel member Shepherd, and then we'll go around for any panel members who wish to comment. Thank you, chair Barkman. Um, So my comments tonight are really centered in, um, a level of stress and anxiety, um, around what's happening, uh, in communities throughout the country, but especially, um, in New York City, um, today, and I believe yesterday also, um, you know, ICE has been raiding, um, uh, doing raids in, in, in the Bronx. And, um, parents have been reaching out to me, uh, in a panic. Like, what do I do? Um, uh, parents are fearful to, for their kids to go to school, and there are parents that are actually removing their children from school. And, um, we voted, um, on a resolution to, um, affirm our support, um, uh, for New York City Public School students. And I just wanted to ask the panel, um, that we have to do more than just affirm our belief systems, right? Like we have to put some action on that. Um, you know, as a, a child of faith, um, as a man of faith, it is, you know, faith without faith without action is dead. And we can sit around and proclaim how we support our students, but that has to have some action connected to it, right? I said, um, last week, and I'm going to repeat it, that guidance is one thing. Policy and regulations is something different. Um, you know, the chancellor, uh, did mention earlier tonight that she's on her way to Albany to, uh, you know, meet with, um, the state around important issues like the budget. And she also mentioned, um, the governor's proposed cell phone ban. And I submitted a, um, a resolution for the panel to begin considering, um, opposing, um, a full cell phone ban. Um, I think at this particular juncture, like where we find ourselves as a community and the real fear, um, that parents are having, that students are having, um, that I know as a parent, the primary reason why I purchased cell phones for my kids was for me to be able to stay in touch with them. And, you know, I just think at this particular, you know, like point in time, like really removing like a basic tool for families to stay in touch with each other is just highly inappropriate. Um, you know, the last thing that I I really want to say is this. I mean, there's a lot, but, um, the last thing I really wanna say is this. That as a member of this community that believes in Ubuntu, and for those of you who don't, don't really understand what Ubuntu means, it isn't African proverb. That's really kind of like the, the point of it is, I am because we are, I exist because we exist and we cannot, we cannot allow for, it's like if you harm anyone in my community, you are harming me. And if you are harming me, you are harming everyone in my community. And I'm sitting here with everything in me trying not to cry, because I know as a black man what it means to have a system, right? Like substitute, like slave for criminal and then make us all criminals, and then use that criminality as justification for policies that disenfranchise us. So I fully understand what our, our, our Latino and Hispanic community is going through right now because they're being subjected to the same thing. They're being subjected to, you know, you're not here legally. So we, you know, you don't have papers, you're not undocumented. So we're going to label you as criminals and then use that proposed or that criminality, right? To put in mass deportation policies to, you know, unleash ice into our communities. And I think as communities, that should be totally unacceptable. And we have to do more than just affirm our support. But we actually have to take action to make sure that our communities and all those in our communities are protected, feel safe, have autonomy, and able to move around and are able to thrive and succeed. So thank you Chair Faulkner for the ability to, um, for the opportunity to speak. And I yield back. No, and I want to thank you also for, you know, I I think most of us got the draft of a resolution, um, today and, um, you know, for us to give consideration. But, um, I think you raised some very valid point that, uh, one of the ways, God forbid that some child would be removed or, or, or there'd be a need to communicate that phone might be the only lifeline, uh, for a parent to know where their child is or to be able to communicate. So I know many of us have different points of view on the idea of cell phones in classrooms. This is a unique situation and it might be a time for the, uh, legislature to consider pausing. Um, that until, uh, after we've gotten past this initial crisis, um, because, um, I have neighbors who are, who are terrified, they're asking, should I send my child to school or should I leave my child home? I'm afraid that, you know, and, and, and even a child that might be a citizen, but just gives the appearance that they perceive that this child does not belong here. And then my child is taken away. And, uh, so I'd like you to also work with, and I'm gonna recognize, uh, Navid Hassan, who's chairs are into governmental and governmental committee to, to weigh in on this so that we can really, um, create a forceful statement, uh, from the panel, um, in support of exactly what you're talking about doing. So Thank you Chair Paul, uh, thank you panel member Shepherd. And, uh, just following, uh, this thread, this chain of thought, um, absolutely looking forward to finding some actionable things that both the DOE can do more, but I really, I really hope that we can impress upon like the executive branches of government to do their jobs, to protect all residents of the city. And, and how we can do that is up to us decide what, what, what we come to a decision on, like what the panel does. But really we need lead leadership to say we don't want outsiders marauding through our streets, like stressing out families that might be full citizens but are afraid for their, you know, second uncle, whoever it might be, their family members, um, and disabling them from moving freely. And in, in New York City. It's, it's unbelievable to me in a city that is majority immigrant or first generation that we are, are, are, are faced with what is almost like a secret police system, right? We have a hotline that people can call and report their neighbors for, for, uh, for being undocumented. It's insane. Um, because it, it'll be abused immediately. Uh, and, uh, and then there are, uh, chair, chair Faulkner told me that some families are, are, are asking us to, to start a remote school for individual kids that can can't come to school. All of these are, are failures on the part of us as leaders, uh, in creating a safe and welcoming society in all aspects. Uh, people should want, would, should never fear to send, to go outside to send their kids to school. And we have to have a system that really, uh, takes all of these precautions and emergency measures and makes them completely unnecessary. We can't do this for four years. We can't do this for, for one year. So, uh, I'm looking forward to working with all of you. Thank you for your partnership. And, and I'm really grateful for everyone who's been really collaborating. Like there's things happening on an hourly basis. I'm texting people like, what, what do you see? So please continue to do that and I'm happy to help you with that. Thank you, uh, chair. You know, if, if any of us that might feel secure that it doesn't affect us. If you remember the day of the, I think the day after the inauguration, the Bishop of Washington made some pointed references to the president in terms of his behavior and mem sitting members of the United States Congress said, we ought to deport her. The bishop grew up in New Jersey, we're gonna deport her to the Meadowlands. I mean, I didn't, again, it didn't make, didn't make sense to me, but it, but it's a very chilling statement that, you know, I I don't like you the way you think or I don't like the way you, uh, perceive things. And so maybe we ought to have you removed from the country. And I think that, so for any of us that sit back and may feel secure in the knowledge that, well, I have all of my documents, I'm an American citizen, um, we're in a, we're approaching or entering a time where we have to be very, very vigilant in terms and listen very carefully to what's happening because it doesn't mean that we are necessarily immune to, uh, some of the forces that are really trying to do some really, um, very frightening things in this country. So, uh, and I think no matter where we all may fall on the spectrum in different times in the, in the panel, I think there's some things we all have to stand and say in one solid voice, this is not gonna go, we're not gonna accept this. So with that, are there any other panel members who I saw I put some hands, did I Oh, did did I pass you? I'm sorry. Thank you. Um, so I wanna second the, the level of concern in the community is you can touch it, you can feel it, you can taste it. Parents are terrified. I parents have been sending, okay, so let's talk about disabled students that like can't fend for themselves. Parents are sending copies of their students' passports with their birth certificate to school for their teachers to hold in the classroom in the event that something happens, that they have these documents on hand so that nothing happens. I've had parents that we had, um, we had an evacuation drill, what wasn't a drill, it was a situation and the parents started freaking out because they saw that their kids locators were moving and they didn't know where their kids were going and they were really afraid. And this kind of goes back to the cell phone conversation, where cell phones are also used as location tools that families share their locations with all day long to know where my child is when the bus comes, when they're leaving. I have a child that's in work site. I have another child that goes to school in a whole different borough managing our children. We, we, we, we use our cell phones for that, you know, and, and so to, to remove a tool. And then I was, I was in high school in nine 11, I I, I would've been nowhere without a cell phone. And, and so there are situations that, that are not within the, the spectrum of cell phones are causing A, B, C, right? That's a symptom of a disease that we're not addressing. We're just trying to put a bandaid on it and not deal with it and pass it to the next person, which is the parent, right? If the kids don't have their phones in school all day, what are we gonna, what is it gonna look like at home when you send them back? So, um, and that's just like a small piece. Disabled students use these devices to communicate. They, they use them as comfort tools. They use them when they can't wait to regulate. Like it's a self-regulation tool. There are actually devices that have apps for self-regulation, for math, for reading, for writing. These are all things that they use that we teach them to use daily. It's assistive and, and instructional technology. And, and so to say that you can have this, but not that I, I think is, is, is disingenuous. It, it really doesn't make a lot of sense. And, and to the point, um, plastic knives we're dangerous and then we don't give those kids in school and then books are dangerous. So we start banning books and our cell phones are dangerous. So it's just like, what is really dangerous? And when are we gonna start implementing education to address these systemic issues versus removing the onus from me, it's your problem. And to that guidance is nice, is better, but can we get guidance on for school buses? And I know I heard this might be coming, so if someone could say that's coming, that's great. Um, but there's no guidance for what the bus staff are supposed to do if they arrive at a home where ice is outside and the parent doesn't wanna come outside and they're supposed to let the student off and the student can't get off the bus without the adult. So I just would like, if we need a policy, because these students are protected by IDEA, we still have A-U-S-D-O-E for now, and these protections are still actively in place. But what is our policy to ensure that our kids are really protected? Thank You. Thank you. Panel member, uh, panel member. We'll just go around, uh, panel members. Alright. I just have announcement, but maybe I do later because I like to say a few words regarding the cell phone bans, but we are, uh, uh, I, I, I supporting this, uh, idea of, uh, resolution, uh, because, uh, cell phone, it's not only just cell phone, it's, uh, also security device for parents, for students who can call for help anytime they can. And, uh, taking out from the classroom or, uh, these devices is very, um, I understand the purpose that students need to focus on education process, but I prefer the student have this devices in his backpack need in case they need to contact with parents. Same regarding smart, smart watches. Many parents just because of the cell phone van by other student smart watches. And the smart watches also could be a part of this deal. And student could have the smartwatch on his words, but, and, and, and, and be in touch with parents. So please consider also adding smart watches as a, as a, uh, uh, devices who is supporting to. And, uh, one more time. I would like to also, uh, today Thank you, uh, superintendent, uh, district 24 Teresa, who is going for retirement for her very support for, uh, for multilingual students, for, uh, students with disabilities, generally for every student. She's retired and she went great job for disciplinary four. So thank you very much for that. And, uh, if we finish a question of cell phone or I can, Well, you, yeah, you have the floor. It's a general comment. Alright. So I would like to step to the, uh, moment of reflection, uh, commemorating 80 anniversary of Auschwitz bu Canal Liberation, um, a hundred album members of panel education policy. Yesterday, January 25th, 2025, marked the 80 anniversary of the Liberation Auschwitz bu Bual, the infamous German Nazi concentration camp. Uh, this day we take a moment to reflect on the darkest chapter. Uh, in the human history, we honor the memories of 11 million people who lost the lives in Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust. 6 million Jews, 5 million author, including Polish civilians, remind people political prisoners, L-G-B-T-Q, individuals, people with disabilities, Jehova, a witness, and others who were prosecuted by the German Nigeria regime. As a educator shaping the minds of future generation, we need to support education about Holocaust by ensuring that the lesson of the past help us create, uh, inclusive and fire secu society. Promote tolerance by fostering an EV environment when the diversity is celebrated and discrimination is not tolerated. Empower critical thinking by encouraging students to questions reflect and act against injustice in all its forms. We invite our members to observe a breath moment of silence in tribute to the victim of the Holocaust and solidarity with survivors and their families. May I miss or minute of silence, please? Sure. Thank you. Panel member. I think that, um, there's, there's a lot of instruction in what you're saying in the words because we, we need to think about history, particularly in the moment that we are now, and that history can be very instructive because there, and, and I almost hate to say it, but there are many things that seem very analogous to what took place then. And some of the things that we see happening now. Not maybe in this heavy a way, but there are things in, and we can't be silent. I mean, there are some things that we have to just really, um, be vigilant. I think you're right about the education piece. We need to teach these things and have people become aware of them because once they know, it creates a knowledge and then people will real be able to see some of the things that might be taking place. So thank you very much for your, for your comments. Um, panel member, would you like to any other, I'm just gonna go around, so if you raise your hand or just let me know if you wanna speak. You have panel member lie. Thank You. Um, I wanna, um, support panel panel members Shepherd and Isto in the comments that they made about what's going on in schools. And, um, I think just show that let you know that the comptroller, um, hears what's going on and recognizes the, um, the impact that the Trump immigration policies are having here in New York City. Um, I wanna point out one other thing that happened today, and that is the announcement by the Trump administration, uh, regarding federal funding. Um, I left some reports at the back of the room that our office put out that, um, lays out the federal funding that the city, um, receives from the federal government that's at risk from this administration. And in particular, I wanna just point out, um, the risk to the Department of Education and, um, a CS um, number one is Title one funding more than $700 million in Title one funding that goes to low income students. Um, that is a target for Project 2025 to be totally eliminated. Um, head Start funding from IDEA for children with disabilities, more than $500 million for our free lunch, breakfast and summer meals. Um, the childcare block grant that funds $500 million in childcare vouchers for our city. Um, the list goes on and on. Um, funding for CUNY Direct Student Loans, Pell Grants, title three, title four. Um, so it's important to be vigilant on this as well, to let your, um, your representatives and your senator know how important it is for them to fight in Washington and make sure that, um, our students with disabilities, our low income students, all of our students are receiving the federal funding that the Congress has authorized to be spent on these students here in New York City. Um, I also wanna just take an opportunity to mention, um, something that Panel Member Shepherd said earlier about the hardship that childcare providers are facing because of a number of things, including payment delays. Um, I wanna, on behalf of the comptroller, encourage this administration to reverse its decision to close five childcare facilities in New York City in Brooklyn and Queens. Uh, we were at Grand Street settlement for a childcare rally last week and heard from Robert Cordero, the CEO of Grand Street, about the $3 million in payments that are overdue to his organization and heard about, um, their childcare center that's being closed. There's $300 million in early childhood education funding that's missing right now from the mayor's preliminary budget that includes seats for children with disabilities. It includes extended day, extended year, early childhood education funding. We need the mayor to support expanding, forget about just like sustaining the funding that we we had, but we need expansion of childcare. There's an affordability crisis that many, many parents in the city are facing, and this is an easy way that we can help them do better. Thank you. Thank you. Are there any other panel members on this side of the room who wish to comment? You know, following up on that, I, I also hope, you know, one of the things we have to have to pay attention to is that the, uh, president has, um, really dismantled a lot of the DEI programs and that there are many companies that are rushing to, uh, quietly adopt those policies and think that it'll be done under the radar. So I wanna encourage the controller's office and encourage DOE that when we have vendors that have gone to dismantle those programs, that that be a consideration as we look at contracts for the future, and that we make it very clear and maybe in some kind of a public, that might be another public statement that, um, as, as a New York City School Board in New York City, that we support these DEI initiatives and that we will look very carefully at companies that are slowly dismantling their DEI programs and, uh, that when they come to this panel that we're gonna really give serious consideration to, uh, any, any group or program where they have really used that as a cover to return to the days of discrimination and where there was an opportunity for folks. So, uh, hopefully I'm at, I don't, I like to, I'm looking at you chair. Um, maybe that's something we can also refer to committee and have and take a look at and come back to future panel meeting. Uh, with regard to that, um, this side of the room. Any, any other comments? Uh, yeah, panel member, uh, did you No. Yes, Dr. Alwood. I would just like to say that, um, as you know, 40 years in the Department of Education, um, when I first started teaching many moons ago, the principal at that time would say to the staff when we were making decisions, is it good for children? If it's not good for children, we aren't going to do it. And I concur with you in terms of a time for everything. This is a time that we cannot have our children, um, out there without any way to connect with their parents. So this is not a time for that. I also want to encourage all of our principals to be courageous in this endeavor. And also not to cancel black history. We, we have, we need to be responsive to the children who are sitting in front of us. Do not be afraid of what's coming down the pike. We are doing what's good for children. Is it good for children? Of course, it is for them to see themselves, for, for you to see, uh, what's happening in the culture, right? So we want to make sure that all of us are keeping that in in mind. Is it good for children? If the answer is yes, we're gonna do it, and then we'll deal with the consequences later. But we are there to make sure that our children are safe and that they see themselves, um, and, and so that they will become citizens that are confident and that can advocate for themselves. So let's not be pressured or upset or, um, a afraid to do what's right for children, principals. Let's be courageous to do what's right for kids. Is it good for them? Yes. It's gotta be right. So, um, I just want to leave that with everybody. Ask that question. Is it good for kids? Is it good for kids to have their cell phones during this time? Absolutely. When I was a principal, we took, we would collect them because there were so many other things, things being done. But this is a time when we need to make sure that they have the, the tool that's gonna help them to stay in contact with their families. I also encourage principals, when you are dismissing, make sure you do a perimeter walk to make sure there are no black suburbans waiting. Because to your point panel, me panel member, um, soon as they're getting off the bus, who's there to, to, um, make sure that they're okay, right? If you're dismissing from school, is the perimeters Okay, okay, let's dismiss. If it's not, we're gonna have to hold this and do a slow, you know, a lockdown or something like that, because you don't wanna just push the children out into the hands of these people that they don't, they don't know. So again, is it good for children? If it is, let's do it. If it isn't, we are not doing it. Thank, thank you very much, panel member. I really appreciate that. And let's keep in mind that we're days away from Black History Month. Let's not forget that. So we sort of decorating. So, um, let's keep that front and center in our, in our thoughts. Yes. Um, gentlemen, Alman. So good evening, everyone. Your Mic. Hello. Yeah, good evening everyone. I don't wanna be redundant, so I will come at this at a different way. We added a time where it's imperative that we really hold up our roles and responsibilities as parents, community members, teachers, et cetera, throughout this community, especially at this time, we say we will protect our children. We, all of us need to do this. We, all of us need to protect our family members, our neighbors, our community members. This is the time we need to do this and set aside our differences. We really need to pull together. As a city. I always say CPR, um, starts at home. And some of you might recognize where I'm getting this acronym from. Um, courtesy, professionalism, and respect. I need to do that. We all need to do that. We need to pull together and make sure that we all as a New Yorkers, as New York City Public Schools, that we are protected and we are protecting each other. And stronger together is better. That's the thing. Now together is better. That's what we need to do. Um, little, a lot of hot topics come up and said, oh, as this is political. This is political. We created this system. Education is political, clean water is political. Housing is political. Food is political because we created it that way. Self-interest over doing the right thing is political. It's up to us to change it. We are gonna be going to more trying times as a city. We are gonna be tested. Are we gonna fail the test? This is a reflection of New York City's soul. How, how are we gonna be looked upon down the road? That's a lot to say. Thank you. Panel member. Yes, panel member ca. Thank you. Um, so just to continue in this thread, uh, we absolutely need to be working together and trusting each other now more than ever, protecting each other and, and make sure that we have each other's backs. Um, so with that being said, there is, has was an incident in D 16. Earlier this month, a threat was made to the school. And the CEC members are just now finding out, um, this is the second time this year that information was withheld regarding a safety issue at, um, district 16 schools. And if students and staff are in harm's way, we need to know when and why this is happening. And that information needs to be timely. Um, like we need to ensure that our parent leaders are involved in these conversations at that the lines of communication are maintained and strengthened. Uh, I believe there's a protocol in schools that when there's a lockdown or some type of major incident, that the principals must inform the families within a few hours. And, um, the, this guidance needs to obviously include SLT and PTA leaders, but it needs to include our CEC members and our PEP members. Um, so I just wanted to put that out there because I, I have been involved in some incidents myself in my children's elementary school, and, um, and I know that parents had been complaining that they were not getting timely notice that the kids were dismissed and the parents were finding out from the children's mouth that there was an intruder in the school. And, um, that was many years ago. And since then, the policy has changed. And so, um, I don't know if CECs or um, PEP were involved in that guidance, but I think it's really critically important for us to know what's happening when these major incidents are happening, not three weeks later and not with a lot of confusion about what actually happened. Um, and then just, just on another note, I wanna let everybody know that this Thursday there's a city council hearing on special education. So if you have not signed up to speak, you can still send in written comments. Um, you can go onto the city council website. This is, uh, uh, the education chair Rita Joseph's hearing and really appreciate her and all of the good work that she's done these last few years. Um, this is how laws and policies change and how funding is allocated. So if you are having any type of special education issue whatsoever, please, um, bring it to her attention and just jot it down, submit it by, um, their, their website portal. Uh, you don't have to spend 10 hours sitting in city hall giving testimony, um, but please do just write something down and it could be submitted in any language that you want. They will have it translated. So, um, just really appreciate the work that everybody is doing and keep up the good work. Thank you. You know, thank you panel. I know there was an incident that you also texted me about earlier today. You sent me, um, a text about an incident. So, so collectively, I think you're right. There've been a number of incidents that have been taking place. And so we've asked DOE to pull together, um, a briefing, um, to really go dig into. And we are hearing things at CC meetings. We're hearing things in, in various venues, and we wanna make sure that our schools are safe. So we did follow up and, um, we will do some more follow up and we're, um, planning to have some conversation and briefing. Now, I understand in the incident you mentioned there was a letter that went out. However, I don't know for what reason they didn't include the CEC members in that letter, so, Well, I think that, um, so as a former CEC president Yeah, I had a really great relationship with my superintendent. Yeah. She would text me, I would text her. And, um, that incident that I was referring to before when it happened, the superintendent sent me a text and said, there's something going on at the school. I can't give you all the details right now, but I will let you know as soon as possible. And then she did. And so, you know, I don't need to know every single thing in that moment. I just need to be on alert. Right. That like, something's happening on this side of the district and we're Yeah. And there needs to be, become a better chain of communication. Yeah, yeah. Like this communication just has to be happening. And if it's not happening, it's all being broken down. Got it. Because, you know, we all have our networks. We're creating these phone chains to ensure that everybody is getting the information and safe. And so when a critical parent group is left out of the conversation, it's gonna be a problem. Correct. Am I right, Alicia? Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Uh, my name's Adriana Ali. She her, I'm here for Queen ccs. Uh, first I wanted to say happy lunar New Year, and thank you to panel member Mimy for leading us in the moment of silence. And thank you chair for allowing that. A few minutes ago we heard a horrifying story about negligence abuse and a particularly concerning pattern of kicking the can forward, if you will. I think it's interesting that we're getting to see the consequences of bureaucracy, maybe even the consequence of 80,000 unread emails and a work culture where that is acceptable. Play out in real time. Sir, I am so sorry that this happened to your son and that your family has had to navigate this. I hope that when this is finally cleared up and I trust that it will be expeditiously, all of the responsible parties are held accountable. I also wanted to discuss and remind everyone, like the chancellor mentioned earlier tonight, that the Citywide and Community Education Council election season has the begun. If you are a parent or guardian of a New York City public school student and you are interested in getting involved in your community, especially now, please consider running for a seat. Reach out to your district superintendent's office. So here in District 11, that would be Christine Vaughn's office. For more information and for any guidance as you get navigate the entire election process, we need to continue to protect our communities. And right now, our school districts need us more than ever. I wanna close my comments tonight by challenging us all to view history a little bit differently. So yes, folks always say history repeats itself and respectfully, I disagree. History doesn't repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme. And if you are noticing a pattern, if things begin to rhyme, do not panic. You know what may come next. So you also know what's worked before, and you can start there. Please stay safe and continue to look out for each other. Thank you. Thank you. Panel member. Uh, any other panel members in that? Uh, okay. Panel member, SAP panel Member. Thank you Chair Faulkner. Um hmm. We often talk about parents possibly behaving poorly and, um, and how that impacts our children, but if we step back a little bit in this moment and look at what's happening a little further back in the office and watching the government behaving poorly, we have to understand that people mimic what they see. And it is, listen from king to king. It's the same old thing. And we definitely have to recognize that there's this thing that I, I will mention without putting individual names out there, but we have a group of, of whiteness is behaving poorly right now. The structures that are allowing this to happen is horrible because it is a game that's being played over and over and over again. There isn't one person attached to that. It's a systemic mentality of bullying. And we talk about bullying in the schools. We talk about bullying outside, we talk about bullying online, but we don't talk about the heads of this bullying, who is indirectly giving other people permission to keep bullying. And right now what we're dealing with in school is bullying. We're dealing with bullying stamped by it being legal, being in the law. So I can bully you in the law, I can bully you in this policy. That's how I can bully you. And I wanna take a moment to just recognize that this is really why it's so important to have more black people and brown people get in these contracts. Because you can't just snatch someone's stuff away if they know what it is that they're dealing with. You can't just take it away. You just can't press the off button. If we understand what's going on in a policy level and how it is designed to keep certain people out of that conversation, and then we wonder why people can just turn it on and turn it off. That's what makes it so ridiculous. That's the bullying, that's the true bullying because people are going to follow who is able to bully from the top. So as we say, we need to be careful how children watch parents. We have to be careful what's going on in the government and what they're able to do under the name of the law. And when and when Hitler was in power, guess what, that was legal too. So we really have to be on fire right now because injustice to everyone is what to anyone. We really have to step up and just say, hold on a second, this is rhyming. Like panel members said, hold on a second. This is repeating itself and it's a game. And then we want our kids to go to school and function with this type of stress and pressure on their head. And that's both coming from being a parent and an advocate. When is enough enough? We're not okay as panel members with this. We're not okay as parents with this. We're not okay. And so we need to address where the bullying is coming from and do something about it. Thank you. Thank panel member, uh, panel member. Ano. Did you have comment? Panel member does have, so that ends, uh, panel comments for this, uh, for our meeting. Um, are, are there any other comments? Brief comment, Uh, brief comments because I sent, uh, this information to all members by email. I would like to start discussion, not now, but, uh, the next meeting maybe between meetings about expanding of language access and expanding communication. So I just want to please read the email all members to look at this and, and we can discuss this next time We'll talk about it. That's good. We'll refer to committee and then committee. We will make a recommendation panel. Yeah, Maybe. Or maybe we can, yeah. Yeah. Any other comments? Great. That, because I was really hoping it's seven 50 and I really wanted to make some history here. Brief comment. Brief comment. So I wanna say that, um, say that panel member SAP went more direct than I was saying. We are allowing, she's, she's hit it on the net. So what are we gonna do? Are we gonna continue to allow things to be status quo? That's all I wanted to add. Thank You. Yes. Panel member. And to add to what panel member SAP was saying about what you do to a community and then what you expect them to do after that. Um, the, the cuts to the federal funding are so damaging, particularly to the disabled community because that's where all their funds come from. Everything that supports families, that have individuals with disability are federally funded. So you're gonna cut off their leg and their arm and hope that they can still function. So I just hope when things come around, like bus contracts and things that support our students with disabilities, that we remember this conversation and we move forward in the spirit of like, is it good for kids? Deal with whatever comes like later. Thank you. Great. I think that'll be a new, uh, motto that we're gonna use. Is it, is it work for children? Uh, so with that, our next meeting, our next meeting will be held February 26th, 2025 at Clark High School. And with no other, no further business before the panel, I declare that this meeting is adjourned at 7:51 PM Thank you very much everyone, and we'll see you at the end of the.