Lots happening this week! Budget hearings tomorrow, anti-AI rally Tuesday

June 7, 2026

Lots happening this week!

1.     Tomorrow, members of the NYC Council Education committee will grill DOE and SCA officials on the proposed education budget, starting at 12 PM. You can watch the proceedings online here. Public testimony on all budgetary issues will be held on Wednesday, starting at 9:30 AM. You can register to speak here, or upload written testimony.

In any case, you should call and email your Council members to share your concerns about your child’s unacceptably large classes if they have yet to be lowered, the fact that the DOE still has not told schools if they will receive any funding to hire more teachers next year, and the lack of any evidence so far that the Mayor has a real plan to follow through, even given the extended timeframe that the Legislature has granted him of two extra years to reach full compliance by the end of the 2029-2030 school year.

2.     This Tuesday, June 9 at 4 PM in City Hall Park, the AI Moratorium Coalition along with elected officials and other leaders will hold a rally, to urge the Mayor to pause the implementation of Artificial Intelligence in our schools. Every day it seems a new study is released, showing the damage this can do to students’ critical thinking, cognitive development, privacy and mental health. Please come and bring your kids! More info and RSVP here. Last week, when a parent asked about this on the Brian Lehrer radio show, the Mayor punted. We need to keep the pressure on!

3.     By all accounts, the D6 screen break week that was held from May 26-28 was a tremendous success. You can read about it in Gothamist, Chalkbeat or the Daily News. This is a model that I hope many more districts follow next year – with the ultimate goal of minimizing screens and ed tech use in every school, all year long.