Send a letter to DOE and NYSED opposing their defective C4E “plan” today!
Jan. 13, 2022
DOE has proposed a totally inadequate Contracts for Excellence plan that will not provide NYC students with their right to a sound basic education. Class Size Matters, the Alliance for Quality Education and the Education Law Center just sent a letter to DOE and the NY State Education Department strongly opposing this plan. Please send in your own comments, with a deadline of Monday Jan. 17 by clicking here, or by emailing ContractsForExcellence@schools.nyc.gov.
As our letter points out, the proposed plan is deficient in many ways: DOE targets NO funds towards smaller classes, claims they’ve received no more C4E funds than last year even though they received more than $530 million in additional state Foundation Aid, allows C4E funds to be used to supplant or fill in holes where the city itself has cut its own budget, and if principals choose to use these funds in the category of class size, they can merely minimize class size increases rather actually lowering class size. Finally, the state has allowed DOE to hold hearings, ask for public comment and submit their plan to SED for approval long after these funds have already been spent, making a mockery of the entire process.
All of this flouts what the law intended to achieve when it was passed by the State Legislature in 2007. If the DOE is allowed to continue down this road, it will further undermine the opportunity of NYC students to ever receive their right to a sound basic education. Please send your own comments to DOE and SED by clicking here.
And please share with others who care!
thanks, Leonie