##VIDEO ID:https://vimeo.com/1031963160## My name is Greg Faulkner, and I'm the chair of the Panel for Education Policy. And I want to thank you all for being here. Welcome you all and, uh, it is both now my duty and my honor to call to order the November 20th meeting of the Panel for Education policy. And I'd like to now ask our secretary to please call the role. Sure. Is this on? Yeah. Um, when I call your name, please indicate that you are present. Um, Marielle Ali. Present Adriana Ali. Present? I think Phoebe Shaday Arnold is absent tonight. Shirley Ban? Oh, that is present. Uh, Aaron Boad. Present. Camille Retti. Present? Marjorie Dean Stag. Present. Amy Fair Absent. Anita Garcia Present. Anthony Giardano on his way. Okay. Um, Angela Green, vice Chair present. Navid Hassan, I think Navid name is Cab is lost. Okay. Um, Alice Ho Present, uh, Rema is Kedo Cab. Jess Lee. Present, uh, Sharon Owin. Present. Alan Ong Present. Maisha. Sap. SAP Present. Tom Shepherd. Ven Ang Present. Um, Manny Ris and Chair Faulkner Present. So we have 15 members present at this time. There are two vacant positions. And then there, so there are 15 members, but I also wanna call, um, the comp controller's representative. Lara La Yes, I'm here. Thank you. And Chancellor Avila Ramos Present. So we have a quorum to hold the meeting. Great, thank you very much. Um, our, our first order of business is the, will be the adoption of the minutes from October 30th, our last panel meeting, October 30th, 2024. Is there a motion for unanimous consent on the adoption of the minutes? I wanted to your question. Uh, yes, please. Yes. I just wanted to highlight that at our last meeting, I made a request to have a link to contracts added onto the minutes, and I noticed that was not done. And just Wondering. Yeah, I believe I thought it had been done. I will. Let me follow up. But, uh, we did submit that request and I'll follow up. Um, we spoke about it yesterday, in fact. And, uh, to make sure that that was there, I know that there is a link in some of the material we got that does move to the, uh, contracts, but I'll make sure you want it actually in the minutes. Is that what your ask request was? Yes, please. Okay. I'll follow, I'd like to table this vote until that's done, if that's okay. Okay. Your motion is to table the minutes until we have that done. Is there a second to the motion to table Second. Okay. Um, can we proceed to a vote on the motion to table? Um, I guess it's a roll call. Yes, it's a roll call. Um, member Ali? No. Member ea? Yes. Um, member bin? Yes. Member Boad? No. Member Casre? Yes. Uh, member Dean Stag? No. Member Garcia? No. Vice Chair Green? No. Um, member Ho? No. Um, member Lee? Yes. Member Owin. No. Member Ong? No. Member Sap, no. Member sang? No. Um, and Chair Faulkner? No. Um, so there is 1, 2, 2 4 in favor of tabling and 11 opposed. So the motion does not count. Motion Fails. So, um, based on that, I assume there would be objection to unanimous consent. So why don't we proceed to a roll call on the minutes. The motion now is on the adoption of the minutes of, uh, October 30th. Um, member Ali? Yes. Member Ali, say no. Um, member bin? No. Member Boad? Yes. Member Reti? No. Member Dean Stack? Yes. Um, member Garcia? Yes. Vice Chair Green? Yes. Uh, member Ho. Yes. Member Lee? No. Member Owin? Yes. Member Ong. Yes. Member sap. Yes. Member Ang. Yes. Chair Faulkner? Yes. So the minutes are approved by 11 Yes. Votes and four nos? No, you just need a majority for that. For the minutes. Okay. Yeah, yeah. I was just clarifying whether we needed what the number of votes we needed for adoption in the minutes. It is a simple, it is a simple majority. So the minutes are adopted. Um, great. So at this point, I, I'm happy to welcome our, our chancellor again and, and, uh, turn the floor over to the Chancellor for any comments that she may wish to make. Thank you, chancellor. Good evening everyone. Thank you so much for being here. Wanna thank Chair Faulkner, vice Chair Dr. Green, and all of our PEP members for being here tonight. And of course, to the pet Treaties and Hungerford schools for hosting US principals tabs as a McHugh, as well as acting Superintendent Paulton and superintendent Louis San. Thank you so much for having us here in your district. We've had a busy November, lots of school visits. Um, I think over the first month it was, uh, 13 or 14 school visits that, that I had, um, really excited, uh, to have spent some time here on Staten Island as well. Uh, most recently we had a terrific to Wally celebration at PS 69 in the Bronx, and we also observed Veterans Day. Uh, I wanna thank all the veterans who have served our country, including panel member Tom Shepherd, and of course, we launched our five borough listening tour yesterday with our first event in Manhattan. Uh, just wanna reiterate that these listening tours are tours are critically important. They're way for the community, not only to get to know the team and me, but also more importantly, to hear your concerns and your issues. Because the only way that we can adjust the work that we do is to know what is of the utmost importance to you. And, and to get your feedback. I was especially eager to hear ideas, questions, and concerns related to my three commitment areas, which are safety and wellness, teacher support, and family empowerment. And we do have listening sessions coming up in other boroughs within the next few weeks. Uh, so on November 26th, we will be in Brooklyn. In December 3rd we'll be in Queens. December 10th we will be in the Bronx. And December 17th, we'll be back here on Staten Island. I encourage everyone to join us and sign up online. Since the last time we met, we have also had our presidential election. And as I shared in a message with all staff and families, I believe we have a set of core responsibilities as a public school system. First of all, we may remain steadfast in our commitment to maintain safe and supportive environments for our students, staff, and families. That is our top priority and our first responsibility as a school system. New York City Public School and the Mayor's office are committed to protecting the right of every student to attend public school, regardless of immigration status, national origin, or religion. I wanna reassure everyone that nothing has changed in terms of how we operate in our schools. Our schools are safe harbors for our children, and they will remain. So, New York City Public School does not permit non-New York City law enforcement's, law enforcement agents including ICE to enter schools, except when absolutely required by law. We already have a robust set of resources and protocols in place around this, and we will ensure our school leaders are fully prepared and trained on these protocols in the coming months. We also have a responsibility to nurture active civic engagement. I encourage us all educators, school leaders, families and community members to discuss this election with our students and to model thoughtful discourse. In doing so, we must support our students to ask questions, learn the facts, and express their perspectives respectfully. We have resources posted on schools that nyc.gov/current events that will be helpful in creating space for discussion. Finally, as community members, we will continue to take care of our students and each other. Every school has onsite mental health support, and if you need assistance yourself, you can call or text nine eight eight. As we look ahead to the future of our country and our democracy, I wanna thank you for guiding, nurturing, and supporting all our children and for upholding our New York City values each and every day. I also want to acknowledge the recent report from Advocates for Children that's shared that one in eight students in New York, New York City experienced homelessness this last year. As someone who experienced housing instability myself as a child, I know firsthand how serious this issue is for our children. And I want you to know that we are deeply committed to providing our students with the educational stability and support they need and deserve. I also wanna acknowledge Advocates for Children. We appreciate their advocacy on behalf of New York City students. And our office of students in Temporary housing actively engages with a FC around our shared commitments to our students at New York City Public Schools. We take a comprehensive approach to supporting students in temporary housing, one that involves both school and shelter based staff. We have over 350 dedicated personnel to support students and families affected by homelessness, including school-based Bridging the Gap, social workers who provide mental health supports and referrals, and shelter based community coordinators who work closely with shelter staff on education and attendance support for students and families. Funding for these shelter based community coordinators has been baselined under this administration. Despite the loss of stimulus funds, city Hall has also made some recent adjustments to the 60 day shelter transfer policy, allowing children in grades K to six to be required to move only once after their first 60 days in a city shelter. And we think that will help support our newest, newest New Yorkers in particular. We know there's always more work to do, but please know that this is a priority for us and we are doing all we can to support one of our most vulnerable populations. Thank you. Okay. Thank you very much, chancellor. We're, um, excited. We, we've seen a lot of, um, uh, activity and movement, so we're really excited about the work that's being done. Um, before we get into the, uh, public, um, uh, discussion on motions, um, I would like to share a bit of, uh, information. Um, one, we've, uh, had some, some work with some of our committees, um, and I did see panel member Nave. Did he, uh, he, he's here. I saw him and I guess he'll come back, but, uh, he's gonna be heading up panel member Naveed Hassana is gonna be heading up our government affairs committee. And I just wanted to, um, thank him and recognize him and give him an opportunity to introduce himself. And I believe also, um, Penman Bong, you had a, a meeting also about, um, an upcoming town hall meeting that you wanted to announce. Is that Thank you chair. Sure. Well, it's something still in the works, um, in regards to opportunity engage in, uh, certain topics and issue right now that may be sensitive and important to parents. Okay. That we definitely want to engage and work co uh, collectively and collaboratively, uh, with, uh, NYCP, uh, public schools. So, uh, it's in the works and the announcement we'll come out soon in regards to what we'll be doing and, uh, when we'll be doing it. So just stand by and, uh, be on the lookout. Thank you. Okay. And so I, I do wanna take a chair opportunity to thank both you and, um, panel member, um, Naveed Hassan for taking on the additional role of chairing a committee on the panel. Um, we have a number of committees. I should also point out that our committees, um, are not just limited to members of the panel, that we, um, have the opportunity to also invite, uh, members of, uh, the public and also be engaged with our committees. Um, that has actually happened with our, uh, government affairs committee, which is a new committee where we have been able to, um, have a number of, um, CEC members and others who've asked to be part of that committee, um, to really look at what areas can we engage with government to really improve the work or support the work that we're doing here at the, uh, the, um, as, as members of the panel for education, I, I don't wanna preempt him. Um, I'm gonna wait until our, uh, new chair comes back and, uh, turn the floor over to him so that he can talk a little bit more about, um, the important work that we're gonna be doing. One of the things that we have found in some of our votes and some of the things that we have to address here at the panel that very often there, there are things that we would like to, uh, move forward with that we find that there are either rules in Albany or rules in the City Council that preclude us from doing some of the things that we might be interested in doing. And what this committee is gonna do is figure out and develop a strategy where we can have some, um, conversation with those individuals in order to best, um, move whether legislatively or whether policy, but to really, really engage and, and have the panel create almost a legislative agenda, um, so that we can create I was stretching that and I'm so glad you showed up. Thank you, chair. You did. I I was gonna run out of, uh, you know, so, uh, but I was, I do want to thank you while you're here, um, for accepting the responsibility of serving as our new chair of government, um, you know, uh, government Affairs committee. And, uh, we think this is gonna be a committee that's gonna really have a substantial impact on the work we're doing and supportive impact on the work we're doing here at the panel. Um, we did, in addition to the panel members who've also indicated a desire to volunteer, I, I'd also like to announce that we have asked, um, uh, A-A-C-E-C member and I believe District two, Gavin Neely to serve on the committee. He's a, he's accepted and has agreed to serve. Uh, we also asked a CEC member, uh, actually a parent leader in the Bronx, um, you know, to serve a, a Chad Roye who will also be serving. And we're looking to get other folks involved in the work that we're doing here at the panel. And we think this is a way, um, that the panel can reach out and create greater public engagement. Um, I also make reference to our panel, um, uh, uh, uh, email. Um, we have started to get some traction there. We're getting folks, uh, uh, sort of, um, writing into us with suggestions or, or opportunities to engage with the panel. We wanna encourage the public to do that. Um, we recently, um, had a committee meeting of our, uh, um, school utilization committee. And one of the things we did for the first time is we allowed members of the public to actually present testimony during that meeting. Um, this is a way that the panel is really hoping that we can enhance our connection and engagement with members of the public, um, and that we're gonna create more opportunities to do that so that we're connecting with parents and we're connecting with community, and we think this is another step to do that. So let me again, publicly thank you, um, Pam Hassan for, um, taking on this responsibility and, and helping us to guide this process. I'll turn the forward to you. Thank you Chair Faulkner. I'm sorry we were stuck in some very terrible traffic, which could be a policy question for, but, uh, I would like to make sure that the public knows that we are trying to make sure the panel, uh, be accessible to you during committee meetings, uh, come to us and provide not just testimony, but we'll have time for a back and forth in these. And also, the work of the Government Affairs Committee is really to liaise both, uh, all with all levels of government, uh, with legislative and administrative branches to make sure that the priorities for New York City public schools are in line with what parents, uh, expect and demand of them. So, uh, there's a lot of things that are state law that we need, um, some amendments to, uh, there's concerns around United States Education Department and what might happen on January 21st. So, um, and, and actually for the most immediate concerns, I would like to introduce a resolution for next meeting and Brooklyn, uh, calling for the protection of all of our immigrant students, undocumented students, and their families to make sure that schools are a safe place, uh, for everyone there. So, look forward, look, look, uh, forward to seeing, uh, a draft on that and, and, and we'll be collecting input. Thank you very much. Okay. Thank you very much, Pamela. And, and you're right that last, uh, bit there about, uh, uh, the panel creating a resolution that really speaks to the, a need for us to send the messages, the New York City Public School system, that we are here to protect our, our students, and we'll do whatever we need to do and whatever ways we can to protect. So, but I'm looking forward to that resolution coming forward, uh, from your committee and bringing that forward to the panel at our next meeting in December. So at this point, we're ready to move into the public comment section of the meeting. So let me just outline a few procedures that we'll follow during this period. Um, first we'll recognize people in groups of five, um, and you'll be called up by our secretary. Um, during that time, if you, um, are not present when we call you up, um, you would not be able to regain your spot in the speaking order. So if you're planning on speaking on any one of the items that are on the agenda, um, you need to be present when you're called up. Uh, you'll be recognized by the chair for two and a half minutes to make a presentation on, um, any of the, uh, items you wish to. I'd also enforce or remind you that if you are asked to speak on an agenda item that's currently under discussion, your your, your discussion must be related to the agenda item under consideration. If by mistake you wanted to talk about something that is not currently, like we're discussing contracts and you wanted to talk about something else, um, we could move you to a later portion of the meeting. But, um, the only, um, debate during that time is on the items that are currently being considered, um, or items of for consideration, uh, during that time. Um, again, so we'll begin that process. We begin first by, um, inviting students, um, to offer testimony. We actually moved the general comment for students as the next item on the agenda. So if there are any students, have any students signed up to, No students have signed Up. Okay. So, so we'll move right onto the, um, uh, first agenda item on the agenda for the business post. And that's this consideration of contracts. And I'll turn the floor over to our secretary to present the resolution. The resolution up for approval is entitled Resolution to Authorize Entry into Contracts, which consists of Contracts, agenda Items two through 18, chair Pka. Okay. Is there a motion to, um, adopt a resolution? Did I hear someone make a motion? I'm sorry. I thought there were 13 items on the agenda On the contract. Yes, That's right. There's 12, then there's two through 13 technical. Two through 13. Okay. Okay. Yeah, So it's, I I it's corrected. It's, it's resolution to authorize entry into contracts which consists of contract agenda items two through 13. Correct. Okay. Again, is there a motion, is there a motion to adopt the recommendations? So, moved. Is there a second? Second. Second. Okay. We'll now proceed to public comment on the, uh, resolution. I just wanna make sure I'm, no, No one has signed up to speak, um, with respect to the contracts. Okay. On the, uh, we'll then proceed to panel member comments. Are there any panel members who wish to comment on the resolution panel member? Lie, I, I thought it was gonna be no one. I said that would be a first, right. So I, I'm glad I touched on that. Can't let that happen. Yeah. Um, I just wanna, um, make a brief comment on the, um, early Learn contract. Um, I was very grateful to, um, get a response to the questions from my office, um, about this contract. Um, and I just wanted to, um, you know, dis discuss the reply I got a little bit because, um, my question was about whether there's a plan for expanding early learn, um, because, um, obviously Universal three K and pre-K has been, um, an enormous success in this city, but there is still a lack of, um, childcare available to children under three. Um, and that situation is not going to resolve itself when market rate prices for childcare in this city, um, are $23,000 a year. Um, and so I just want to better understand, um, I received the answer to my question about expanding early learn that current capacity enrollment data does not demonstrate that there are not enough seats. And the data that our office has, um, notes, and this is from the, the MMR, this is from the administration's own reporting, um, that there are about 10,000, um, early learned seats as of last year at least. Um, data from a CS has told us that there are about 28,000, um, toddlers and infants who currently receive a voucher for childcare. So, um, there are the, the subsidies that are provided primarily by the Childcare Block grant, and together that's about maybe 40,000 children, um, who have some kind of seat in one of those programs. Um, and just to put some perspective on it, there are 270,000 children in New York City between the ages of zero and two. So this is a tiny fraction, and, and probably about half of those children, um, are at least income eligible for, for subsidies. So given that this is such a tiny fraction of the potential need, um, I wonder if there's anything more that can be done to expand to early Learn and grow a program that would provide such a vital need. Thank you. Thank you so much. First, deputy Chancellor Weissberg, are you available to respond? Good evening, everybody. Uh, Dan Weissberg, first Deputy Chancellor. Thank you, chancellor. Thank you, Laura, for, for the question. Um, so the, the data that we have about where the seats are and the demand, the actual applications for those seats is, is what was reflected in the response. Uh, there's no question that in for early learn, you know, also for three year olds and four year olds, there is more potential demand. There are more kids out there that we want to make sure they, a, they know about, um, this, this free service that's available, uh, and that, um, they take advantage of to the greatest extent possible, certainly their families that make other choices, and that's fine. Um, but, uh, you, as you know, we have invested more in outreach and we're learning more from that. So these numbers are not static. We're not claiming that there's never gonna be, um, more demand in that particular area for that particular age group. But I think we all have to work together to figure out the best way to reach those families, make sure they have the information, make sure we're providing seats in areas where there the demand exists, uh, within the, the limited resources that, that we do have. So it's not like we can afford, unfortunately, just open up seats and hope that people, uh, show up. But we happy to, to sit down with you, particularly on early learn and, and, uh, your colleagues from the controller's office talk about the data we do have and talk about the outreach we're doing to try to make sure that, uh, the latent demand that's out there we know is out there, um, that we are getting to those families as well, and then responding when we see that, that demand pick up. Thank You. Are there any additional questions from panel members? Yeah, panel member, uh, Lee, Thank you. Um, I have a comment on contract item number 13, which is gonna sound very similar to the comment I made on the, uh, Lenovo contract from last month, which is really just to say that as we, um, as we seem as a system to be moving forward with digitizing, um, assessments such as state assessments, potentially the shaza, et cetera, um, it's really imperative that we take a more comprehensive look at how schools are acquiring, um, new tech items. Particularly because schools with smaller enrollments, whether that's by design or because the school is under-enrolled, have smaller budgets. And while all of our principals, I think are, um, absolute masterminds of doing the, the maximum with what they have available to them, not having a system-wide policy or metric in place to ensure that, um, there's a equitable distribution of new devices and equitable distribution of functioning devices across the city. All but ensures that students at under-resourced schools are going to be less equipped to perform on these metrics by which their schools are assessed. And I just wanna put that out there. Thank you Panel member Lee. Thank you for that comment. And before I ask Deputy Chancellor Vara to talk about the myriad technological resources that we have supported schools with over the last few years, um, I just wanna say that you bring up an important point about oversight. Um, schools with smaller budgets, you are absolutely right, have less money to buy certain things. Uh, but what we also know is that, uh, principals have a lot of autonomy over how they spend their money. And what we want to ensure is that school budgets are going to students and to families. Um, and so while we are certainly honoring the fact that many of our principals make magic with small budgets, uh, particularly those small schools, and I, having been a principal of a small school, uh, I understand the struggle, but what's not okay is, uh, when we hear that there are top heavy administrations with three or four administrators or a number of secretaries or, um, comp time teachers, and then we get escalations for, um, a, a a lack of a librarian or lack of laptops. So there is a, a partnership and there's transparency that needs to take place here where whatever school doesn't have the resources that they need, we always come in and we support those schools, but we also need to make sure that all of our principals are spending their money on the things that matter. I have faith that most of them are, but where there are pockets of issues, uh, that that's not happening, we are definitely going to make sure that we have more oversight of that. Okay. Thank you Chancellor. Uh, are there any additional questions from panel members? I, deputy chancellor. Oh. Oh, I didn't see. Oh, I'm sorry. Hi. Hey everybody. Nice to see you. Thank you. Chancellor Jesson, to be honest, uh, the new chancellor did a better job of saying what I would've said. I think what I will say, just to remind all of us, and as you know, this is something many of us have worked together on over the years, over the past few years, uh, we work very hard to put the funding we have into school budgets, which we have continually done. One of the outcomes of that is we have fewer dollars at Central to support things centrally, but we have continued to invest in school budgets, additional funding through fair student funding, additional state aid, additional funding for class size and additional funding for multiple hold harmlessness over the years. Right? And so we have continued to prioritize hundreds of millions of new dollars into school budgets, um, as the chancellor we, and then that's the right thing to do. Um, we also know our schools have purchased a lot of devices over the past few years, and that's something our technology team and I have been looking at. There are a lot of devices out in the field. We do need to make sure every school that has them for all their, and all schools have them for all their students. We welcome if you have flags about schools that do not, we will take a close look at their budget and try and understand why that's true. As you know, in terms of the, um, inequities, we've actually really worked hard to put more funding into our higher needs schools over the years and have continued to do that. We also provide more funding for student at our smaller schools for a variety of different reasons. And that's how that turns out. So we'll continue to take a look at this. We do think enhanced oversight is a piece of it where there really is still an issue given the funding we provided. Great. Thank you. Deputy Chancellor, I, Shirley Alban, did you have a question? It's not a question Or a comment. It's a comment. Um, we are not voting on it, but only reason why I want to make a statement is 'cause there's misinformation about contract number one, whether it passes or not. The, the, it does not affect enrollment into the, to those specialized high schools. The contract is specifically talking Count. You understand it's not an agenda item. Yes. But I just wanted, well, I could wait till after we vote, but I wanted just 'cause it's a misinformation thing. Let me, let me move you to the general comment because we, that's the sort of standard we set for public that a debate should be on agenda items. Okay. I don't, it doesn't matter as long as it gets Said. Okay. No, I, we're gonna come back to you, you get to make that statement, but just let me move it. So we're doing the same for the, uh, public in the panel. Um, are there any comments on the current resolution under consideration? Okay. Seeing no further hands, are we ready to proceed to a vote? I'm assuming that's a yes. Uh, can we call the roll? Uh, we can call the roll. Um, again, indicate how you wish to vote. If you wanna vote differently on an individual of item, let me know. I do wanna note that we've been joined by Rema Quiero and Na Hassan, who already spoke. So I will call the role on the resolution to authorized entry into contracts, items two through 13. Um, member Ali? Yes. Member Ali. Say, um, member bin? Yes. Member Boad. Yes, you will. Member Casre? Yes. Member Dean Stag? Yes. Member Garcia? Yes. Vice Chair Green? Yes. Member Ho. Yes. Um, member Lee? Yes. Member Edwin? Yes. Member Ong. Yes. Member sap. Yes. To all member Sen? Yes. And Vice Chair Group? Uh, Faulkner. Sorry. Fa Yes. That's, that's alright. Yes. Um, so the resolution passes unanimously, um, 17. Excuse me. Did I? Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Nave member Hassan. Yes. Sorry about that. You know, I give you a new comedian and they don't call me. Uh, You know, did I get everybody, did I get member Quiero? Yes. Sorry about that. Okay. Thank you for stopping me. And, um, it passes unanimously 17 in favor. Okay, great. Thank you very much. Thank you. Old panel. Thank you for your questions. Um, we'll now move to the next item in the agenda, which is the aggregated budget for fiscal year 2025. Secretary Nathan, would you please read the, uh, resolution? Uh, the resolution up for approval is entitled Resolution, um, to approve the school year 2025, aggregated budget. Is there, is there a motion to accept the resolution? Motion? Who, who, who made a motion? Sure. Shirley Alman is, uh, makes a motion. Is there a second to motion second from Alice? I saw numerous, but, okay. So it is, uh, second, is there any, um, do we have any discussion? Uh, there is no public comments signed up on the budget. Okay, great. Uh, we'll now move to panel member comments. Are there any panel members who wish to comment on the aggregated budget for fiscal year 2025? Yes. Second panel rely Thank you chair. Um, this was touched on a little bit earlier, but since we're talking about the budget, um, I just wanted to note that, um, the comptroller's office estimates that the Department of Education receives about $2.2 billion in federal funding. Um, and this is important, um, for school budgets as we look at these aggregated budget. Um, because this funding or some of this funding, um, could definitely be at risk under the next administration project 2025 lays out the elimination or redirection of IDA funding and as a funding. And it particularly notes the goal of eliminating Title one funding within the next 10 years. Um, and there's other funding, um, such as funding for community schools that is also federal funding. Um, even our funding for school lunch, which is about half a billion dollars, could be tied to ideological conditions such as eliminating our diversity in admissions programs or protections for transgender students that hopefully we wouldn't accept, but then maybe we wouldn't get the funding. And I don't wanna say this is going to happen and I don't want to, you know, speak things that may never be, but I think it's prudent for all of us to be worried about this and to make sure that our advocacy from electeds and parents and as a city as a whole, that we ensure that the state and the city protect these revenues. Um, this is crucial so that when we're here again next year, in November, 2025, and the PEP is voting on the aggregated budget, we're not looking at disparities caused by a loss of those federal revenues. Thank you. Thank you. Are there any other comments from panel members? Yes, panel member retti. Um, there, there is, um, a process that has been discussed amongst CCEC members in the past where the CEC would present a resolution regarding the amount of money that they would like to see going to the district. And I just wanted to elevate that because, um, this is something that is actually written into the law where the district communities propose the amount of money that they need to run their schools. And so in a way, we're doing things a little bit backwards from the way the law states. And I can show this to you offline. Um, but I just wanted to elevate that. I think it would be worthwhile to start looking closer into how this process is done. Um, basically we are just giving schools the money that we think that they need and not actually giving them the money that they do need to develop specific programs that their communities are looking for. So I just wanted to elevate that. Okay. Thank you. Are there any other comments? Yes, Pam Quero. Um, so something's weird with the recordings. I did try to watch it. I couldn't. Um, so my question just is why is District 75 not represented? And I just want the official answer. I think this came up in the briefing. Did somebody, That's why I mentioned the recording. Yeah, but I couldn't review it. So I just gonna ask here. Thank you. Yeah, I think you're talking about the recording during the briefing. No. Well, so question is why is District 75 not represented in the budget? So I see one through 32 and 79. Okay. Is it 97? To answer your question, D 79 is D 75. So it's the same thing. So it's in there. That's extremely confusing. Can you explain that please? Because as I understand, district 75 and District 79, they are independent districts that can cross over, but they do not share funding. Sorry, I'll get back to you. D 79, as I understand is adult learning and certain programs in middle and high school for certain populations, but not same. Sorry, sorry. Um, D 75 is scheduled a little bit differently and this is just the aggregated budget for D 1 32 to, for D 79. Sorry about that. So the aggregated budget, as I understand, represents the entire New York City public schools. Why is district 75 excluded? I will get back to you on that. Thank you. And we can definitely include it, uh, next time around. If, if we could get an answer by in, in this meeting, that would be greatly appreciated. Sure. Because if it was discussed in the, the hearing and in a briefing, no, There was a, sorry, there was a different question that was discussed in the meeting and it was about disaggregating from the, it wasn't about the D 75, it was about the high school's component specifically. Correct. So if, if we could just get question clarification. Oh, One at a time, one at A time around the district 75 question. That's my question. No problem. We'll get back to you. Thank you. I believe is designated as 97 on the panel Member, uh, saying, If I remember correctly during the meeting, the question was asked by Shirley who stated that the 75 on the high school had a zero budget. Right. And the reason for that is D 75 plus people don't know that it's a program. It's not part of the, it doesn't have a HS in terms of high school. It's a program and therefore they don't go as 1 32, 1 district, district 1 32. This is a total different ball game. They don't get a dip, they don't get a diploma. It's a program. Some schools used to utilize the p in front of their numbers, like P 94, P 2 27, P 26, whatever. But it's the word for program. Some schools choose, for example, my son's school choose to get, uh, move away. The P just use the initial for the brawls. For example, M for 7 51, M for Manhattan, B, X for Brooklyn, uh, for for Bronx, or B for Brooklyn or Q, whatever they use. But it is not what most people are used to as HS for high school. PS for public school or MS for junior high school. This is not the same. And that's why you cannot put that in the same budget. That's what I was told a long time ago. That's Actually not true. The budget is the budget And I make a clarify. Okay. Hold, hold, hold on. We're not gonna, we're not. Okay. Yeah. Can I Make a clarifying statement? It's under D 97. So it's in there under 97. So what else is bundled? N 97. Why would it say 97 and not 75? 97 is just the district number for it, but representing district 75. So then why is it district 75 and not 97? I can get the historical context, but the information is in there. So 97 strictly represents District 75. That that's correct. Only for all grade bands in all settings. Yes. Including inclusion District 97 for budgets only, but it's all D 75. I would love a briefing around this. Thank You. I would love to give it to you. No problem. Okay, great. So there'll, there'll be follow up afterwards. Are there other questions or comments? Yeah, That's okay. We ready for the question? Let's proceed to a vote. Um, this is a vote on the resolution to approve the school year 2025 aggregated budget. Um, member Ali? Yes. Member Ali. Say yes. Member ban. Yes. Member Boad. Yes. Member Casre. Yes. Member Dean? Yes. Member Garcia? Yes. Vice Chair Green? Yes. Member Hassan? Yes. Member Ho. Yes. Member Quiero. Yes. Member Lee Abstain. Member Wyn? Yes. Member Ong? Yes. Member Sap. Yes. And member seat Sang? Yes. And Chair Faulkner? Yes. So the resolution passes. 16 in favor? None opposed. And one abstention. Okay, great. Thank you. Uh, the next item, uh, up for consideration is the, uh, uh, proposals for school utilization proposals. And, uh, secretary, if you could present the resolution. The resolution up for approval is entitled Resolution to Approve Changes in School Utilization, which Comprises Items one, the proposed opening and co-location at P 0 89 R at R 0 26. A new site of New District 75 school PSR 0 89 PEREN 75 R 0 89 with PS 26, the Carter at school. 31 R 0 26 in building R 0 26 in the 20 25 20 26 school. Year two, the proposed grade expansion of PS 26, the Carter Red School, 31 R 26 from a K through five school to a K through eight school and reciting of grades one through five from building R 26 to building R 1 21, beginning in the 20 25, 20 26 school year. And the opening and co-location of P 89 R at R 1 21. A new site of new district 75 school PSR 89 75. R 89 with PS 26, the Carter Red School, 31 R 26 in R 1 21, beginning in the 20 25, 20 26 school year. Back to you Chair Faler. Great, thank you. And I see our superintendents are lined up and eager to, to make presentations. So, uh, let me, let me, oh, I jumping right ahead to the superintendent. So we need a motion first. Is there a motion from a member panel? Is there a second? I second. So it's been moved and seconded. And, uh, we'll now move to, before we move to public comment, we'll hear from our superintendents. Good evening Chancellor Villa Ramos and the members of the Panel for Educational Policy. My name is Act Superintendent and I stand in support of both proposals before you tonight. PS 26 known as the Small School with a Big Heart, is a cornerstone of the Travis community. Under the exceptional leadership of Principal Bassett, it has become a place where love and high quality instruction thrive. Establishing a middle school option in Travis is a logical next step to foster positive relationships between the students and the families, and to provide a middle school option in the neighborhood where one currently does not exist. Also, as a former district 75 principal, I stand for inclusive communities. So I also support the co-location in such environments, everyone benefits, expanding options for our district. 75 students is crucial as it allows for greater collaboration, mutual learning, and shared success. So these proposals are a win-win for us. So I, so on behalf of District 31, we stand in support of the proposals. Thank you. Good evening. Um, I'm Kathleen Lafe and I'm here tonight representing Superintendent Kettler Lewison from District 75. There was a citywide council meeting tonight, so on behalf of the superintendent, good evening Chancellor. Good evening. Members of the PEP community. I also am bringing word from our district superintendency that this is a win-win. We're really very excited. It will be a new school for District 75 and Staten Island in an area that is far away from our other schools, where our students end up traveling for more than an hour, sometimes up to two hours to get to their other schools. So this will be that they can now be in their community, they can be in their neighborhood, and they will be with peers of their age group. So we are very excited. We had the opportunity to be at the School with Heart. And I think the mission of the school is totally aligned with our district 75 schools. And we look forward to building this new school with the Coexisting schools 26 and one and also 1 21 R in a way that, um, fosters collaboration for the benefit of students. We learn from our peers and they learn from us. It will be mutually beneficial. And I think for our students whose families have been broken up, because some go to school there, but then others are traveling very far away. The parents are thrilled that they can have both children in the same community school. So it is a win-win. Okay, thank you very much. Is there anyone else? Okay, well, I guess we'll now proceed to public comment. There are no public comments. Okay. We'll now proceed then to panel member comments. Are any panel panel members who wish to be recognized for comment on this resolution? Yes. Panel member sang. Um, I spoke with CC 31. They said they are in full support of this, um, proposal. Uh, so I hope everybody would vote Yes. Thank you. Sure. Yes, panel member. Um, I'm, I'm grateful whenever there's a D 75, um, vote on the table, um, particularly when we're expanding and not moving. Um, and so I, I am in full support and I'm very happy that STA and I don't have a new T 75 score. Great. Any other comments? Did you wish to, uh, as panel member Bobert? I'll just echo, uh, what Venus had said. And, uh, everybody else on behalf of the, uh, borough president Vito Fela, uh, we are a resounding yes, I've attended the hearings. I've been online with the hearings and everything that we know is a yes. And we, we didn't hear any real negative from the community as well. And we do get a new D 75 school in it. It's in addition. Great. Thank you. Are there any additional comments from panel members? I assume the silence means we're ready for the question. I did You think motion. Just sec second in the motion. Oh, okay. That you agree. So, so let's proceed. Let's proceed to a vote then. Um, thank you Secretary. I, I will call the roll. Um, member Ali? Yes. Member Alisia. Yes. Um, member ban? Yes. Member Boas. Yes. Member Katti. Yes. Member Dean Stag? Yes. Member Garcia? Yes. Um, vice Chair Green? Yes. Uh, member Hassan? Yes. Member Ho. Yes. Member Esto. Yes. Member Lee? Yes. Member Owin. Yes. Member Ong. Yes. Member Sap. Yes. Uh, member Ang? Yes. And Chair. Wait, did I get Yeah. Chair Faulkner? Yes. So the motion, the resolution passes unanimously, but 17 in favor. This has gotta be a historic meeting. We've had a record number of unanimous votes, so I I'm getting a little ner you know, this is, this is good. Um, yes. Okay. That, that, that concludes the voting portion of the meeting. We'll now move to, um, uh, general public comments if there are any individuals from the general public who wish to be recognized. Secretary. Uh, yes, there are actually only four names. So I will call all four names and you can make your way down to the microphone. Um, Natasha Green, Thomas Roven, Lisa gia co. And Ellen Chu. And I apologize for the mis pronunciations. Natasha Green. Hi Chancellor panelist and audience. I'm Natasha Green, CEO of the mobile archery business, hidden Gems Archery. I'm also the CEO of the DO approved Ag Tech company. We intervene in the capacity of green intervene. I consult schools, districts, and ccs on empowering, engaging and connecting families to the resources they need and want. I thank Gary Rodriguez for posting the Facebook Live yesterday on LinkedIn because I was able to hear the concern of the CCCs. I want you to know that I'm 99% sure I can support all the CACs during their transitioning phase for waiting for an administrative person to create digital newsletter, engaging content and strategy moving into 2025. As Dr. Melendez and Face Team work on the pilot program that I know will be successful, we are manifesting that in a school system as large as N-Y-C-P-S, we need to do a couple of initiatives in parallel to reach desired impact that is increasing and sustaining family and community engagement. Honestly, my goal today was not to talk about the needs of the CEC, although I really don't mind 'cause I'm like this idea person at implementer, but my heart is with the PTA, the PAs. Some of the points I wanna share needs more thought. But I have been reflected on items such as banking issues for PTAs and PAs. We should have our own bank. I know it's a big, hairy, audacious goal, but I believe that things can be done in New York City and her own bank for the 1800 schools will be very successful. Number two, cross district mentorship for PTA and PA leaders. Grateful for Laura who connected me to, where's Ellen? There she is. Just, just before this meeting and Helen shared that, you know, districts like district, um, you know, 13 and, you know, 15. Am I right, Helen? 13, 15. Did I get that right? And you have a couple, you know, in your mind, but we could support PTAs and PAs in District nine and 10, right? And if we do the analysis on some of the data on some of our schools that come into the year with $0, I did it for 2022. I think we were around 368 or 370. Don't quote me, but that's 2022. I know last year's one probably is gonna be updated soon 'cause y'all do it in November. But there's, there's a a dream there, right? Because PTA and PA leaders who are doing phenomenal money raising millions of dollars, these are people that are about impact, that are about reach. And I think you will fill their, their spirits up if you even reached out to them to do this. Cross-district mentorship for PTA and PAs. The last one is, um, basic level funding, right? Based level funding allocations for PTAs and PAs, right? Like why can't they come into the school year a little bit successful, right? $2,000. And we're not saying that they'll always be needing the money. What we're saying, and what I'm saying is that when you connect someone who knows a lot about fundraising, who's someone who just came into the role, then you start building the capacity because some of these parents, these guardians, I met someone with this past weekend on Saturday and I had them in my cell Speaker's. Time is back choice, aspire. So oh, 15 seconds. Oh Yeah, take the 15 seconds, but you got a little extra time because we didn't start the clock. But, um, nevertheless, but to speak time, My hardest with the p TPAs, I know that, you know, adequately supporting them will support us in the family empowerment, engagement and the success of parent leaders. Don. Great, thank you. Let me also remind speakers that you can also submit written testimony at our, at our website. So I, a lot of times if you feel pressure of having a lot that you want to add, you can also email IDO at, um, panel, uh, um, site panel email and we'll, um, you know, be able to take a look at those comments. Yes. Good evening. Tom Avanan, uh, chair of the OTPT chapter in the UFT. Um, I attended the October pep meeting to discuss two things. We had a ninth session in our previous contract in 2023, and for over a year we heard that, uh, we were waiting for a payroll code. Now we hear that, uh, they don't have the funding and they want to do a pilot program in January in two districts in Brooklyn. At the same time, they're outsourcing to private contractors and agencies at an enhanced rate of $130 an hour. We were also asking, uh, where there are large caseloads or full-time caseloads or large numbers of outsourced students in schools that are close by for the DOE to hire a full-time therapist. Um, I submitted a one page summary to the chair at your request. Uh, we haven't heard anything. Um, I'm here to see if you have anything. Uh, new to report back to us. Thank you. Thank you Lisa. Gia, Coby. Good evening. My name's Lisa and I'm here in support of Tom. I'm an occupational therapist. I've been with the DOE for many years. And, um, speaking to you on behalf of our most vulnerable students that we work with, we have many students who are going unserved and they're not re receiving their much needed related services. Um, because of budgetary constraints we have, we have caseloads that are not being filled because the DOA doesn't have the budget to pay to hire therapists to come into the schools. If there's a school that does not have a large enough caseload to attract a contract therapist to come in, we have children going unserved. These families are often given RSAs. There are no providers. Families can't find providers to serve, um, to serve these, um, children. So many of us, our much, um, vulnerable students are going un unserved, um, for the services that they need. So my plea to you is to try to figure out some sort of budget or some sort of correction to this so that our most vulnerable students can receive the much needed services that they are going without. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Ellen Q I'm still a disappointed Mets fan, but this point and to the issues are maybe also a discouraged Democrat, but let's not get into that one. The, um, at this point right now, I had to bring my laptop with me to get closed captioning so I could hear what people were saying. Um, while I spoke to John, I believe is his name, um, he gave me a promise of a couple of more months. It doesn't work that way. Accessibility is accessibility. It's like giving somebody part of a ramp and saying, okay, get your, uh, wheelchair up the rest of the steps. The second question is about pre-K rider rosters. Personally, I know of four children who have been home for a month because as they were told, as their parents were told, and as the schools were told, there's a glitch in the, um, computer program and they can't create a workaround, um, I find that surprising. I think that the DOE or the contractors could do a little bit better, and I hope that somebody here from OPT can take this on. And lastly, although it's not, lastly really minority and women owned businesses, are any of the minority or women owned businesses that you contracted with run by or affiliated with a group of people with disabilities? Whether those disabilities are, uh, physical, mental or neurological? Have you made any, have you made any attempt to find out if there is representation? Um, and lastly, under Fernandez and continuing with Cortina PTAs were given, um, I think it was $200, which is not a hell of a lot of money right now, but it's still $200 more than they have when they started. It wouldn't be a bad idea to take a look at some of the opportunity to fund PAs or PTAs, especially in those areas that are not well to do. And I don't mean 15 Camille don't get ticked. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Deputy Chancellor Fody, if you wanna come up and respond. Okay. So just to, to address the ot, uh, situation, I wanted to begin by saying that we've hired over 70 occupational therapy therapists this year. Last year, uh, in June, we ended with historic highs of almost 95%, uh, related service provision. Um, while we expect to see those numbers climb, uh, this year, um, it is true that we have relied on, on contracts in high to serve, hard to serve areas. It is also true that we are exploring the ninth, uh, period session, which would give our providers another period during the school day where they could provide service to any child in that particular school who needs an additional session. That will certainly help with the compliance. Um, however, even with that, there's still going to be, um, gaps that, that need, uh, contracted coverage. Um, our, we value our OTs, our OTs, and our physical therapists and all of our related service providers. Our strong preference is to have our children served by their providers that know and love them, um, and that have relationships with them. So that is our number one preference priority. If we cannot do that, we have relied on on those contracts, but we are gonna continue to be pushing on this and making sure that we're doing all that we can to reach that a hundred percent. Mark, Thank you for your, for your comments. Um, are there any additional public comment that is the end of the public comment signup. Okay, great. We've reached the end of the public comment sign, um, uh, section of the meeting. At this point we'll turn over to panel members who may wish to make brief, uh, public comment. Are there any, do I see any hands, Shirley? Yes. I referred you to the public comment, so I didn't forget. Yes, no, no problem. I just wanna make a comment. So as the anticipation is to vote on the contract, I don't know why my voice is not back yet, but, um, I apologize, but I just wanted clear up misinformation. This information, there's information there that's, you know, going around that if we don't pass the contract for the, that it won't be a freshman class for 2026 is not true. This contract is about the vendor Pearson and digitizing the theat. That's what this contract about. It's not about prepare, um, giving out exams. The exams will still, will still have paper exams, so the exams will still take, and if the contract does pass, it'll take another two to three years for implementation. So, um, so the real issue is, is it feasible for us to pay $17 million to go digital and using that vendor? That is what the issue on that contract and nothing else. Okay. Thank you. Are any other public, uh, uh, Panama comment? I see you're, oh yeah, I was just the Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah. Um, or did you want Deputy Chance? Did you wanna comment? Uh, yes. Thank you Chair and, uh, member Robin, happy to talk to you offline about this. Uh, I understand why it looks like this is just about digitizing. It's actually not. This would be the sole means of providing an exam. So if we don't have this contract in place, the current contract will expire. There will be no contract for paper and pencil to continue, but happy to, happy to talk to you in detail, uh, and go, go over the language. And I totally understand why. It looks like it's just about digitizing, but this is the actual, this would be the actual contract for provision of any test for Shaza. Thank you. Okay. Can I follow up on that? Um, please, please. No, no. Let me, uh, recognize pen member sang and then I'll come back. Okay. For people who want a second round? No, Pam, member Ang. So when the Shaza, um, contract was on the table, that's the first question I asked. Why isn't there a written, why doesn't it default to written test if the, um, the electronic doesn't get passed? And the answer is what Mr. Uh, Mr. Weisberg just said. There won't be no written test. It's just electronic. I think that's why it Was postponed for so many times. Okay. Any other panel member wish to? Yes. Panel member. So does that Mean I can't hear you? Just a quick question. Does that mean that the next time that the SHIZA is supposed to be administered, which will be next talk, I think we have having a hard time hearing you. Sorry. Does that mean that the next time that the s**z a is administered, which would be next October, November, that it's going to have to be digitized, they're going to be able to do all of that in less than a calendar year? Is that what we're saying? I'm confused. So they're gonna be able to have the entire thing digitized and, and up and running and ready in, in like 11 months. Correct. Cool. Okay. Any other? Yes, Pamela Blee. Um, yeah, I have a comment that is not related to Shead at all. Um, I wanna acknowledge that today is, um, transgender Day of Remembrance. And just to take a moment and pause, you know, I know that our school system lost at least one student in the last year to, um, basically the repercussions of transphobia. And I would, you know, and I know right now, um, at CEC two, they are working on a resolution right now to rescind, um, their resolution 2 48, which called into question, um, trans students' capacity to participate in PSAL. And I really hope that they are successful in that attempt to rescind that. Um, and I guess I just want to put out there that I hope that no matter which way the political winds blow, um, in the coming years, that our schools remain stalwart in our efforts to protect and include all students regardless of any potential discriminatory, um, aspects of themselves, including gender and gender presentation. Thank you. And, and thank you Pen. And Billy, you've been a strong voice always on this, and we definitely appreciate that. And, um, you know, I'm, I'm hoping that CC two will be successful. I know we've had conversations on this and I know they've made several attempts to rescind, um, the resolution. Um, and hopefully it will be successful. But I'm really happy that this panel did make a very strong statement, um, with, with regard to what our feelings are and what our expressions are with regard to that resolution. And that we stand firmly with, uh, all communities and particularly with the transgender community and communicating that we support and that we won't tolerate as a, as a panel, um, any level of discrimination. I think even our administration also made that very clear, um, as well. So I again, appreciate you bringing that forward again. But Yes, given the day, I'd Like to acknowledge, keep, keep reminding us. We'll keep reminding, keep reminding us. It's important. Appreciate, I appreciate your leadership and Voice in this regard. Thank you. Thank you, chancellor Panel member Lee, thank you so much for raising that because in the midst of everything going on, we wanna make sure that we don't forget any student population. Um, and you're absolutely right. We acknowledge, um, the work that that has been done to support our transgender students, but we know that we're not done in that work. Um, and we need, we need to do better. Uh, and when we talk about, um, a no tolerance for, uh, zero tolerance for bullying of any type, we also, um, have to always re remember and name our transgender students. So thank you for that. Great. Any other panel member Panel of alike? Um, thank you Chair. Um, on behalf of the Comptroller tonight, um, I first wanna thank the Chancellor, um, for her words uplifting, um, students experiencing homelessness, um, and also our gratitude to advocates for children for their longstanding work on this issue. Um, but I'd also like to take this opportunity to note that, um, as a city, we are still failing students in temporary housing and newcomer students in many ways. And, um, I would like to put some real world context, um, on the urgency of this issue and suggest some things that we could do this week to make things better. Um, if we really tried. Um, the lack of interagency coordination between DHS and DOE, um, is crazy and shuffling kids across boroughs, um, even if now, um, it only happens after they've been shuffled once, um, is ridiculous. Um, there's no reason why a child residing in upper Manhattan should be sent to a shelter in Jamaica, Queens, um, as we have heard happen numerous times, um, most recently at the Castle Bridge School, um, the lack of adequate transportation for students who are placed far from their school. Um, could we at least give every child experiencing homelessness and omni card? Um, that would be something. Um, yes, shelter based community coordinators do amazing work, but we need more of them. Um, we basically have the same number of those folks as we had two years ago, I believe, before all of the new shelters opened, and they are now spread so thin. Um, how about waiving voucher eligibility requirements and paperwork for parents and shelter that need childcare so that they can look for work or permanent housing, um, while their children get a high quality early childhood education? And can we close Boy Bennett Field, which I think everyone would recognize was never a good place to house families to begin with. These are real things that as a city we could do right now to help improve outcomes. And yes, the lives of students experiencing homelessness, why aren't we doing them? Um, we need like a, a children and temporary housing tiger team to, to meet now and tackle these types of real world solutions so we don't have to wait for the next Advocates for Children report a year from now to discover that nothing has actually changed. Thank you. Are any other panel members who wish to be recognized Panel member Casre, Thank you so much. Um, uh, chancellor Remos, thank you so much for your, for your listening sessions and ensuring that you're meeting in each borough. Um, I was disappointed to find out that these meetings are not available online so that you only have to be in the building in order to listen to your very important words. Um, so I was just wondering if there's any chance that you could livestream those meetings going forward. Thank you. Okay, thank you. Any additional comments? Panel member Alban you? Oh, yes. Panel member quero. Um, so I wanna speak to the comment from the OTs. Um, and I I'm always grateful when we hire, but that still doesn't really address the issue of what they're speaking about. When there are budgetary constraints in schools and they can't hire, we as a system can hire, but schools individually may not have the capacity to hire the RSA list. Honest to God is a joke. It, it, it, I have called places with parents and gone through every provider on the OT list and we have schools that have been giving RSA letters to their entire population of students that need OT for years in district 75 entire sites giving RSA letters that don't do anything for families. And so these students are never connecting with the services that are required and mandated federally and by state as per IDEA to access their education. So when, when we talk about funding, enrollment, all these different pieces tie back together with our outcomes. So if we don't have the OTs in the building and the families, the schools can't hire, the families don't have the capacity and the list is not helpful. We're sending people in a circle for our most needy populations, our populations that are already drowning with family stuff, life stuff, keeping the lights on, keeping food on the table, and can't sit on the phone and call agencies every day to be told that we don't deal with DOE because, and we can go into the specific reasons that providers cite 'cause they are very honest when you call them and you ask them why they don't work with DOE anymore. So that's a different conversation. And this goes to, I know we had a lot of UFT complaints and as I understand, UFT mandated every school to have a special education committee per school, um, because they were getting a lot of special education complaints. I'd actually love for us to get an update on if that's actually helping, if this is happening in schools. Um, and, and like what support do we provide, right? Because this, it's not a UFT is is providing accountability. That's our job as, as the board, right? As the panel. So we have to start investigating the accountability, right? We don't have a SL interpretation tonight. We talked about this last month. We, we haven't received, um, not even an email about the Citywide Safety Committee or the citywide discipline code I asked three months ago. So when we talk about accountability and we're talking about budget, we can't pass and pass and pass and never go back and check that what we're passing is actually with integrity and fidelity being implemented. Um, to, to that point, um, I'd like for, for us, right, as like our special education committee to start looking into the everything, because we never talk about it. We need a clear answer on how we're funded. We're passing a budget that funds the entire school system. So it doesn't make sense that the district that we're paying for is not the district on the paper, because as we know with money, everything has to line up. There is no, like, we're on paper, the New York City Board of Education, we're not New York City public schools or all these other things. So if it has to be right on paper, then I need to understand what that means. So if we can under our committee, because I know that this takes time from our meetings and we need to invest this time somewhere. Yeah. So I, all of that to circle back to the OTs, thank you for coming out because if we have people that wanna service our kids, then we have to figure out how they can service our kids because our kids are not being serviced. And the alternative is, let's start teaching parents how to file state complaints. Thank you Somebody. Yeah, Rema, thank you. I definitely would love to take you up on the, on the offer to have more frequent briefings because, um, I think we all have to get very clear on what is happening and what isn't happening. The, your point about transparency in the budget, you're absolutely right in terms of the coding, it is, we, we need to fix the code. It should say district 75 for external transparency as opposed to, so totally hear you on that front. 97 is, is district 75. It is here in, in the budget, it is listed, um, nonetheless, point taken on the, on the, on the label. And I'm sure Sarita and team can fix that. Um, on the OTs front and the service provision front, you Rema, and many of you on the PEP have been with our US on this journey of service provision. Um, and we've made great strides. I I wanna remind you that when we started here, when I came into tweet in 2000, you know, 14, we were at 60% service provision with all of the collective help you being at the forefront, Rema and many of you all, you know, um, being at the Margie, I could keep going on of, of so many of you who have fought side by side with us to get to where we are today. Ending the year last year at 95% was historic for us, right? That was huge. Do we, are we still up at night about all of the kids that are in that 5%? We are. Are you right about the RSAs? Absolutely. They do not work for every kid. That said, I do wanna start getting clearer about the things that we are saying over and over and over again about special education because not all of them are accurate or true. And I think for those of us who have worked shoulder to shoulder with, with all of you day in and day out for nine years now, at least we owe ourselves and the kids and their families that are being served the right to know what is actually happening. And so I would like that opportunity to continue to brief the pep on what is happening and the gains that have been made. Because to continue to say that special education is broken, special education is not broken, our kids are not broken. When you say special education is broken over and over and over again, families and children in those schools believe that they are being served by something that is broken. And so I am gonna challenge all of us, myself included, to keep being mindful about how we are talking about our children, how we are talking about the system that supports our children. And we are so committed to getting this right for every kid. We are so deeply committed to that. For those of you, and I'm gonna stop Chancellor, for those of you at the town hall last night, I don't know if anybody heard the parent that was unprompted who was there with her daughter and was talking about her five-year-old son who just in the district except five pilot program, he just got into a horizon program as a kindergartner and he's going to school with his sibling across the street from his house. That is work that we created together via the advisory council. I had said to you last year, for those of you steeped in special education, give us this year to give you a proof of concept last year, mom, I've never met her last night, she came out and showed us a proof of concept as working, but we're not putting that on Twitter. We're not holding press conferences about that. And all we are continuing to say is that kids are not being served. And you are right to say that until we get to a hundred percent. You brought up the compliance committee. Do you know how many schools have checked the box on that? All but six in the city. We are at 99.5% compliance on the compliance training. Do you know what has happened to special ed complaints? They've increased threefold. And do you know what we've done with every one of those complaints? We've solved everyone. Not one went to the stage threefold increase via the, that means those compliance teams are doing their job on the ground. And yes, we did that in partnership with UFT and we are proud to have done that with in partnership with the UFT, but it is the compliance team that is going out there working with their UFT compliance, um, uh, folks, and we are solving those together, right? But that team took on a 3%, three time threefold work increase and they crushed it on behalf of your children, on behalf of this work. So there's no shying away from the gaps in service provision here. It is true the district 75 paraprofessional issue, yes, we are hiring, but we have hired hundreds and hundreds of paraprofessionals this year, right? And we're gonna continue to do that. So it is not all perfect, but I am so committed to making sure that you all know exactly what is happening so we can celebrate the places where parents are saying, you changed my life with this program. You changed my kids' life with this program. But we don't talk about that very much. So I would love your partnership in helping tell some of those stories, um, and making sure that those kids and families that are being, uh, don't have yet what they need. I need you to know what we are doing to get them what they need. 'cause we're gonna stay on this mission. And, um, and the chancellor has, has made this incredibly clear, she knows this work better than most. I mean, really, truly, she knows this and this is what we're, we're committed to doing together. So thank you for the time. Thank you, sir, for, for the additional chin time. And thank you Chancellor. I wanna thank, um, Christina Fody. Uh, we've been partners since so many titles ago for both of us. Um, I, I think the biggest title is Family for us. And, um, I wish I could clone her, but so the purpose of always saying it here is that we all need that passion that she just came with, that I come with every day. We show up like that every day, and I need everyone to show up like that every day for every kid. So that's the purpose of constantly highlighting it because until we're at a hundred, we're not done. And, and, and I think that was a, a secret message to the comms team that they need to start highlighting more of special education and more of the success stories that we have because our success story at Truman Pool didn't really include the special education component, which is 95% of the story. So I think our comms team could do better at highlighting some of the amazing work. And to that point, thank you OPT because we did highlight the issue with an A SL school that had like 24 kids that didn't have buses, and within two days, 19 of them were routed. So thank you because we're giving flowers. Thank you so much. Uh, deputy Chancellor Fody and Rema panel member, sorry to be formal, uh, but it's been an honor to work with both of you over the years, many titles ago as well. Um, and I think that's what unites us all in this work is that regardless of what we are called formally on paper, it's the commitment to getting the work done. And what we're all saying is essentially the same thing. We know that the work is not done. We know that until a hundred percent of the needs are met for all of our children, and that's not just for our children with disabilities, but for all of our children, we know that we still have a lot of work to do, which is why we engage in difficult conversations with stakeholders across the city because we're not shying away from that. And the only way that we can continue to improve is by hearing where things are not working. We can lay out the best plans at Central, but if there is a disconnect between a concept and implementation, we are only going to know that by speaking to people in the communities and finding out where we need to improve. And that brings me back to the comments that Pam panel member live raised about, um, the a FC report and our homeless children. Uh, first of all, as, as someone who led Project Open Arms one week into, uh, us getting five, six buses a day, uh, back in July, 2022, uh, I was a one man team and, um, uh, my chief of staff is like woman, one woman. Um, and I always wanna thank first Deputy Chancellor Weisberg for, uh, giving me the honor of leading that team. It was a dream come true for me as a Latina, as someone who struggled growing up with resources myself. So welcome our newest New Yorkers. That work is far from perfect, but again, the commitment is there. We are not going to rest until every child has what they need. We do not shy away from partnership. We do not shy away from constructive criticism and feedback. What we don't want is for our different opinions on implementation and our different opinions on how things should look to keep us from accomplishing the end result, which is making sure that all students get what they need. So what I urge us to do is continue to work in partnership. I continue to urge us to have briefings on topics, even if it's two and three times, even if it's sitting in a room and continuing to go over plans and figuring out how we can tweak them and make them better. Our interagency work has improved a great deal. We are on the phone with DHS, we are in meetings with DHS, we work in partnership with Moya, with DHS, with City Hall, with everyone we can possibly think of. But the reality is that these are complex challenges, not only at the school level or the district level, but at the policy level. And you raised some very important points about life after January, 2025. And so at this point in time, what we need to do is rely on policy. We need to continue to monitor what policy is going to look like after that time. But we are here to support our children because at no point in time is any educator, from parent coordinator to paraprofessional, to teacher, to administrator, to central administrator saying that we should not wrap arms around these children and protect them. But we need the partnership of everyone to do that. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Chancellor for your comments. And, uh, deputy Chancellor Fody, I wanna thank you, ALS. I mean that was, I I we could feel your passion and, and the commitment that you have and it comes, it came across really very clearly. And so I want to thank you for that and for, and, and yes, we'll accept the challenge and partner with you and, and try to find constructive ways that we can really move this forward. And, and you're correct. We can't, you know, I I'm sure if everybody could snap a finger and everything would be perfect, we would absolutely have done that. But unfortunately that's not the way policy is developed and it takes time and it takes diligence. And I am very confident with your team and the chancellor and the work that's being done that we'll eventually, uh, make progress and reach that goal. So, uh, again, thank you. Appreciate it. Are there any other comments from panel members? Yeah, one more. I can't Yeah. Panel member, vice chair Green. Well, Thanks Vice Chair. You wanna go first and then, and then Vice Chair Green? Yeah, Sure. Um, and, and I, and I, and again, it is, it is so important. I tell anybody the process of something is gravely underestimated in our society. It's usually when something starts and the end product, but the process of something becoming is transformative. And as a marketer, you know, the human interest stories online and how we're using our platforms, um, played very crucial roles and in the process of something developing more than what it is today. And it, again, it goes back to what are we communicating, how often we're communicating and what gets the light. And I know it's a balance because we do have a lot of things that we have to work out, but I tell you, um, we, we need to do a better job in society as a whole to not just talk about the finished product, we need to talk about what are the steps in between. We need to communicate with the, with the steps in, in between, because that also reflects, um, community and, and that, and it's not just one person that's responsible, but, but a community that makes things happen. But I also just say taking advantage of, um, uh, social media and, and, and, um, showing more human interest stories, you know, on A-A-D-O-E website and stuff like that. That's it. Thank you. Panel member. Uh, yep. Vice Chair Green. And then, uh, panel member sang Vice Chair Green. And then you're recognized. Yes. I just wanna comment briefly on, um, deputy Chancellor Fody. I think it was so passionate what she said because I've watched special education transform as a, from a teacher to becoming an administrator. And I've seen the changes and I know that with the work of those people who have their boots on the ground, they're making these things happen. You know? Um, of course, you know, I have a story to tell. Yeah, because I was a, I was a teacher and then got my, uh, master's in special education because I needed to meet the needs of the students that were in my classroom that weren't labeled any type of way. But as we moved forward, I've watched, uh, this, the committee on special education, I've watched special ed supervisors come into play, uh, assistant principals in charge of special ed, uh, IEP requirements. Uh, I worked hard at mainstreaming scholars and got into a lot of trouble because I didn't follow the rules because I'm not thinking of the rules, I'm thinking of the children. So I had to change the IEPs in order to mainstream the, you know, so we've made so many strides in, you know, as I came through as a teacher and an administrator. And I just have to say that, you know, what you said was very powerful, powerful to me because, um, I've had so many children, uh, who've gone through the schools that I've been at, who've gone through special ed with the, between the busing and the Nickerson letters and, and all of the things, you know, uh, the attendance, the home visits. And I just have to, you know, take my hats off to my hat, off to you and your team because from what you said, you know, and I wanna learn more. So I'm, you know, I'm ready to work with you and thank you. Thank, Thank you. Vice chair. Uh, were you moving to the Oh, I, okay. Um, Pamela, can I ask you to hold for a second? I want introduce, uh, was Deputy Chase Madera, Sorry, talking about the missing the moment and then having to go after my colleague. Thank you Christina. Um, council member, just to far more boringly, clarify one fact or a couple of facts about what you shared. Uh, we do provide omni cards to students in temporary housing. So if you're hearing concerns, let us know. We also actually provide metro cards to the parents of students in temporary housing, just that population. Um, and in fact, as with all our data around students in temporary housing, I, I don't have the exact number, but we're providing two to three times as many of those parent metro cards this year as we have in past years. We're busing I think twice as many students in temporary housing as we have in past years. The system's being stretched, we know we're not able to do everything we want to, but all of those policies are in place and we are providing all of those things to our students in temporary housing in particular, um, in a targeted way. And of course ride share when there's a bus outage for those students or if we cannot provide that. So it is far from a perfect system, but we are truly trying to use every tool at our disposal to make sure we can get students where they need to be each day. Obviously there's a whole new series of challenges that are going to be in front of these families and us and it's something we at the chancellor's direction are thinking pretty long and hard on a daily basis about how we can provide the support our students, our families, and our staff need as we look towards, uh, January, 2025. Um, the other thing I will say, just to clarify 'cause I appreciate it wasn't the clearest the, uh, the 60 day policy is, is the city's policy that was, that was tweaked this week. It actually is that families will not need to move. So they under understand. Um, and we're working on getting this information out, but it is for families with students in K through sixth grade in particular. They will not need to move. They will need to go in and request that working on getting the information out. But that is the policy exchange. I thank you. Let me just panel member Dean Stan, I just wanna thank, uh, deputy chance for those important clarifications panel member. I just wanna thank Christina. She and I have gone 10 years, 12 years and for those of you don't know, but whenever we have a co-location or new school, the 75 of Penn Kind neighborhood, US parents and DIS 75 parents, we have to brace ourself knowing the crowd's gonna come to fight us on that. But lately I did something and have to, you have to notice it. There's nobody coming saying we don't want to share with them, we don't want those kids in our buildings and that I gotta give it to Christina and also the superintendent. I can, people come here, they don't even care about the 75 opening up anymore, but not too long ago. Believe me, it could be two in the morning people coming, one after the other rejecting the co-location. And to me that is progress. That is something that parents, the 75 parents, we can relax that sending our kids to a new location, we don't have to worry about that. Thank you so much guys. Sure. So I wanna recognize any panel member who hasn't had an opportunity to speak before I give people a second round. Yeah. Panel member Garcia, I'm glad to, um, that you said that, you know, I'm so old that I remember that I had a co-location, school did so very well. D 75, we, maybe we need to, I don't know what's going on now, but those schools that have best practices, those schools that, um, included with wheelchairs and OTP was done so well. I mean, I hate to brag and um, I know my success is still having the same, we, it was a paradise and I know that's kind of, you know, sounds like an exaggeration. But D 75 co-located with, um, my school was perfect. So maybe, um, shout out district 21. Um, maybe that's what needs to be done. Best practice those things that are working very well to show those that are not, and maybe we can get together and show how it works very well in a lot of places. Okay, Thank you Pan Member Garcia, and I don't see anybody else panel member. Why did you wish to make additional comment? Um, yes, and I, I wanna apologize for not being more clear about the Omni card con comment. My suggestion is not that in any way students who live in shelter who, um, are transferred and need a a Metro card or an Omni card don't get it. Um, the suggestion is that the minute they fill out their housing form and indicate that they are experiencing homelessness, that they should get an Omni card. Um, and that I think, um, is different than what, um, is the current practice. So just wanted to clarify the suggestion that, um, we were making. Thank you. Are there any additional comments? Yes, panel member Escaro, I would just like to request that we advocate, um, I heard it was K to six for the, the students that are exempt, we'll call it from the 60 day stay, um, to advocate for that for all grade bands of district 75. We have kids that can't even go to the auditorium for picture day. Changing homes every 60 days is really difficult. So if, if that could be a consideration in the next conversation with DHS. Thank you. Great. Thanks Shirley. It's Shirley. I'm sorry. Can member Almond Shirley's fine. I I don't care about that. But, uh, We have another month to to talk about that contract, so I don't wanna get into no debate. I just want to say that when you read the educational articles and et cetera, et cetera, there was no urgency stating that there was. All I say is that our next conversation, we need to show that sense of urgency. Like, because we always renewing contracts or extending contracts and in our briefing at that round table, there was no sense of urgency saying that if X, y, Z is not done, that there won't be no exam. I just wanna make sure that's clear because obviously there's a lot of different misinformation both publicly and behind the scenes. And I wanna make sure that we, the next conversation that we have, that all questions are very clear and precise because I'm not the only one with that perception that it was of a contract just to go digital, right? That, that it's, it's not just me, right? Who has this idea and it was never made clear that it's digital or nothing that was never or sense of urgency in our briefings regarding that. And I know certain people specifically ask that. Um, and that's what I want to say. So when we have this discussion and I think we're planning to also have a discussion with the public, please this all facts in the matter be make very clear so everybody will be on the same page so we can make a well-informed and empowered decision. Sure. That's all I need to say. Sure. And that should go for any topic anyway. Any contract, anything that we do, it should be very clear and we have all the facts and all the information and everyone is on the same page. Thank you. No, you know, I agree. I think that we are, you know, fortunate in that, that when there were real questions raised about the, uh, two items that were removed from the agenda last month and this month, um, that was partly to engage greater community contact and greater community, uh, involvement. That's why those contracts were removed. And I, you know, wanna thank the chancellor and thank the department for their willingness to allow us to set up a opportunity, uh, for greater public engagement. Um, um, so I think that, you know, um, we are looking forward to that. We have scheduled a, uh, town hall meeting on these two contracts on, uh, December 11th at six 30 at Tweed. It'll be hybrid. There'll be an opportunity for the public to comment. Um, and, and so what we're doing is we're giving that opportunity to, to have greater engagement. Um, it looks like I'm making an announcement that some, uh, but that it'll be an opportunity for us to have greater engagement in these uh, areas. So are there any additional comments? Yes. Are you discuss, are you referring to the town hall that is for the panel members or the town hall? That is for the public because it's for Both. So it's one for both. Yes. Why we can discuss this offline, but if it's a town hall for panel members and panel members should be involved in the planning of it. Thank you. Okay. Point taken. Uh, any other comments? Yeah. Alright. What time At six 30? Actually I misspoke. It's an engagement committee meeting, so are there any other Yes, Just wanna highlight that. Um, the December 11th meeting is happening at the exact same time that CCHS is having their meeting. And so maybe it would be worth it to do that on a different date. We were trying to find a date and we were, you know, I think this is an important conversation. Um, we were trying to find different dates and it was always something that would conflict. So, you know, when you're planning dates, it's very difficult to do that. It's, it's a high school exam, so I second trying to move away from the CCHS date since they've been the most vocal about it. I just as a panel being intentional about engagement and just to put that on the record. Thank You. Okay. Noted. Are there any other comments from panel members Hearing? No additional comment. That concludes the, uh, business items for tonight's meeting. Our next meeting, uh, there are two meetings in December. We have a, a meeting, a special meeting, uh, for school utilization scheduled for December 4th at fashion industries. Um, we also have a meeting, uh, regular monthly meeting scheduled for December 18th at, uh, uh, sunset Park High School in Brooklyn. With that, is there a motion to adjourn? We've concluded today's business. Is there a motion to adjourn? Motion? Motion? Um, second. Second. Is there an objection to the motion to adjourn? I didn't think there would. I don't think there will be. Hearing none this meeting. Thank you everyone. This meeting is adjourned and I should note the time is 7 55. Richard.