For the first time on Monday, some New York City families and educators commuting to school by car faced a $9 toll upon entering a swath of Manhattan.

The toll 鈥� a result of the congestion pricing program 鈥� charges drivers who enter Manhattan at or below 60th Street in order to help finance public transit improvements. (Most drivers must pay the $9 toll during 鈥減eak鈥� hours 鈥� between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays, as well as between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekends 鈥� and a reduced $2.25 during all other hours).

That program, which has been in the works for years, went into effect on Sunday.

For decades, environmental and transit advocates have sought to enact a congestion pricing program, looking to it as a means of reducing gridlock and pollution while raising revenue for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

But the program has also sparked concerns from some, including the city鈥檚 teachers union.

Last year, the union against the plan in partnership with the Staten Island borough president, seeking to halt its implementation. Some pro-congestion pricing teachers bristled at the legal action, but on Monday, union officials noted the lawsuit remained ongoing.

鈥淥ur lawsuit continues because the congestion pricing plan that is now in effect puts the financial and environmental burden on communities least able to pay, and the last to see improved air quality or less congestion,鈥� said Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, in a statement.

Josh Millis, a parent at The Neighborhood School in Manhattan, said he supports public transportation and the broader aims of the congestion pricing plan, but takes issue with the lack of exemption for public school parents. Millis, who lives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, about a mile from the nearest subway station, said it鈥檚 not always feasible to take his three kids to school on public transit.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 mind walking a mile,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut my kindergartner is not going to do that in December, at 6:30 in the morning, when it鈥檚 13 degrees out. That鈥檚 just an impossibility.鈥�

Some school districts fear long-term effects of congestion pricing

Robert Murtfeld, a member of the Community Education Council for District 1 in Manhattan, said about 25% of families in his district commute from upper Manhattan or another borough. He worries that congestion pricing could threaten the district鈥檚 ability to retain teachers, with educators who currently drive to school potentially looking to transfer. Meanwhile, families who live in public transportation 鈥渄eserts鈥� outside of the district could be burdened by the high cost of the tolls, he said.

Families and educators who choose to drive into Manhattan would pay more than $1,600 in tolls across the 180 school days in each academic year, Murtfeld said.

The District 1 CEC has called on state officials to carve out exemptions or reduced tolls for students traveling to and from schools within the congestion pricing zone, as well as teachers and other school staff commuting into the district.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 make a commentary on whether congestion pricing is good or bad,鈥� Murtfeld said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just saying, if this thing gets implemented 鈥� which is a fact, as of midnight [on Sunday] 鈥� we will be affected.鈥�

Millis, the parent at The Neighborhood School, said his family has been looking into other options to cut down on costs, like carpooling with others at the school, as well as reconsidering at what age his children can start taking public transit on their own. But in the meantime, he鈥檒l keep driving them to school, he said.

鈥淭hat $9 a day is a big hit,鈥� Millis said. 鈥淭o make an exemption for our families for the purpose of public school education is not even pennies in the couch of the MTA. It would not even be missed. But it makes all the difference to us. All the difference.鈥�

Toll鈥檚 impact on Manhattan school commutes remains unclear

MTA officials estimate the toll will result in entering the zone every day. And though fewer drivers on the road could in theory help some school buses 鈥� which are exempt from the toll 鈥� arrive earlier, the broader effects of congestion pricing on school commutes for now remain unclear.

Sara Catalinotto, founder of Parents to Improve School Transportation, said the possibility of shorter bus routes 鈥渨ould be a welcome positive side effect,鈥� but added that the Monday snowfall made it difficult to gauge the immediate impact of congestion pricing on school commutes.

To Catalinotto, the longer-term impacts on students with disabilities could be complicated. Though many students with disabilities rely on school bus services, parents and advocates have for years issued complaints about delayed, overcrowded, or missing buses.

Individuals with disabilities can from the congestion pricing toll, but Catalinotto worries families could still face financial hardships.

鈥淲hen the school bus or paraprofessional is out for the day or longer, and families of students with specialized busing have to use the so-called 鈥榬ideshare alternative鈥� to get the student to school in a car which is not exempt, tolls will be charged,鈥� she said.

In some cases, the city offers families prepaid rideshare vouchers when school buses aren鈥檛 available 鈥� including when specialized staff aren鈥檛 available to accompany a student with a disability who requires them. But Catalinotto noted not all families are registered for such services, and others will be 鈥渃ompelled to pay for a cab out of pocket or use their own vehicle, at higher cost if in the congestion relief zone.鈥�

And though parents can seek reimbursement for transportation costs when school buses fail to arrive, , leaving families shouldering the cost in the meantime.

鈥淭here are varying views in the disability community on the Congestion Relief issue but I think everyone agrees that the MTA has to become fully accessible by some means,鈥� Catalinotto said. 鈥淧erhaps taxing the billionaires or Wall Street transactions to achieve that would have been less stressful than this.鈥�

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

Maud Maron, who New York City Schools removed for 鈥�derogatory conduct鈥� in June, can now resume her post on lower Manhattan鈥檚 coveted District 2 council. She has also been criticized for making anti-transgender comments against students.聽

In her ruling, federal judge Diane Gujarati also deemed the New York City Department of Education鈥檚  anti-harassment policy 鈥� which was used to remove Maron 鈥� 鈥渃hilled 鈥� expression鈥� and likely violates the First Amendment because of its vague language.

The policy, D-210, is so unclear that it prevents 鈥渁 person of ordinary intelligence 鈥� before such person is subject to investigation鈥� from understanding what conduct is prohibited, the judge wrote.

Schools Chancellor David Banks removed Maron for comments made in the New York Post in which she called an anonymous Stuyvesant High School student author a 鈥渃oward鈥� and accused them of 鈥淛ew hatred鈥� for an op-ed accusing Israel of genocide in Palestine in the student paper.

In December, a 74 investigation revealed Maron also said in a private chat that, 鈥渢here is no such thing as trans kids,鈥� among other disparaging remarks. In response, Banks called Maron鈥檚 behavior 鈥渄espicable鈥� but did not include the anti-trans comments in documents outlining her removal. 

In a text, Maron told 社区黑料 Wednesday she was reinstated because, 鈥渇ree speech still means something in this country. The people who voted for me won today because they were also deprived of their voice by the Chancellor鈥檚 unconstitutional decision.鈥�

The judge鈥檚 decision was issued after Maron and two other parents sued the Department of Education, the education council for District 14 and its leadership for allegedly stifling their speech. Gujarti鈥檚 decision granted an injunction to stop the DOE from enforcing the anti-discrimination policy via removing council members. Their .

Department of Education officials said Gujarati鈥檚 decision makes it more difficult to safeguard children. 

鈥淲e are disappointed by a ruling that limits our ability to protect students from harmful conduct by parent leaders. Even prior to the court鈥檚 ruling, we began reviewing the applicable Chancellor鈥檚 regulation and are preparing to propose revisions and initiate our public engagement process,鈥� said spokesman Nathaniel Styer. 

The department, Styer added, is reviewing the ruling for 鈥渘ext steps鈥� and will continue to support district councils in complying with the law. 

Gujarati鈥檚 ruling did not call for the reinstatement of Tajh Sutton, who is the only other parent to be removed from a district council post after a D-210 investigation, because it is a separate case. Gujarati鈥檚 ruling stated that there is no proper request before the Court to 鈥渋dentically extend鈥� Maron鈥檚 relief to Sutton and therefore 鈥渋s not addressed herein.鈥� 

Sutton, formerly president of Williamsburg鈥檚 District 14 council, was removed after their official X account posted a toolkit for a student walkout for a ceasefire in Gaza.  DOE officials said the materials were 鈥減erceived by many community members as anti-Israel and antisemitic.鈥� 

As also reported by the , Sutton moved her district鈥檚 meetings online to limit threats 鈥� which included being mailed an envelope of human feces and death threats 鈥�  which the department later said violated open meeting laws. CEC 14鈥檚 official X account also blocked Maron. Both actions were categorized in Gujarati鈥檚 ruling as limiting free speech. 

Ultimately, 鈥渢he judge upheld the right to free speech even if that speech is offensive,鈥� said David Bloomfield, former DOE counsel and professor of education law with Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center. 

He added the ruling doesn鈥檛 justify the 鈥渙dious鈥� statements made, rather their right to be said in the first place, and that the system likely knew this was a possibility but would 鈥渞ather be slapped down by a court than allow [Maron鈥檚] behavior to persist.鈥� 

鈥淭he First Amendment guarantees a marketplace of ideas,鈥� Bloomfield said. 鈥淲hen the government intrudes on that, it鈥檚 hard to defend.鈥� 

In the first move of its kind, the nation鈥檚 largest school district removed two prominent elected parent leaders from community education councils after controversial rhetoric against transgender students and student advocacy for Palestine.

Elected to serve two-year terms on the city鈥檚 closest equivalent to school boards, parents Maud Maron and Tajh Sutton were removed Friday from lower Manhattan鈥檚 District 2 council and northern Brooklyn鈥檚 District 14, respectively. 

Maron appeared in court June 18, seeking an injunction and reinstatement, alleging the Chancellor鈥檚 decision was a violation of free speech. The Education Council Consortium, a parent advocacy organization, has demanded Sutton鈥檚 reinstatement and criticized the Chancellor for equivalating Maron and Sutton.聽

鈥淚t is a sad day when New York City Public Schools is compelled to take the actions I have ordered today, but the violations committed by these two individuals have made them unfit to serve in these roles,鈥� Schools Chancellor David Banks said in the Friday press release announcing the removals. 

In closing their statement denouncing Sutton鈥檚 removal, the Education Council Consortium said, 鈥渋t is indeed a 鈥榮ad day鈥� when New York City Public Schools uncovers a new way to further erode any confidence in this administration.鈥�

A December investigation by 社区黑料 previously revealed Maron said in a private chat that, 鈥渢here is no such thing as trans kids.鈥� Banks categorized her remarks as 鈥渄espicable鈥� and promised to take action. By March, a petition to remove her from Stuyvesant High School鈥檚 school leadership team for 鈥渂igotry鈥� amassed more than 700 signatures. In April, the DOE ordered her to cease 鈥�derogatory鈥� conduct. 

For months, parents and city leaders condemned Maron for leading a push to re-examine the city鈥檚 guidelines for trans students鈥� participation in sports, and for calling an anonymous student author a 鈥渃oward,鈥� accusing them of 鈥淛ew hatred,鈥� for an op-ed accusing Israel of genocide. 

Across the East River, Sutton was subject to investigation for supporting a student walkout for a ceasefire in Gaza, including posting a digital toolkit and protest chants. In the letter listing his reasons for removing her, Banks said the materials shared by Sutton were 鈥減erceived by many community members as anti-Israel and antisemitic.鈥�  

The reported Sutton, then the president and only Black member of District 14 council, had support from many families in her district who believe she was 鈥渦nfairly targeted鈥� for her advocacy for Palestine and that the DOE did little to safeguard her council against death threats. Sutton said she was also mailed an envelope of human feces. 

In a recent op-ed in the , Maron defended her actions and revealed Banks鈥檚 鈥渙fficial鈥� reasoning for her removal pointed to the comments made against the anonymous student author. 鈥淏ut the real reason the Chancellor wants to remove me is because the Democratic establishment in New York City is furious because I know the difference between male and female and am willing to say so in polite company.鈥� she wrote. 

In the letter issuing Sutton鈥檚 removal, Banks alleged Sutton violated open meetings laws for moving council meetings online, a decision she maintains was made over safety concerns after violent threats and multiple police reports, for which the DOE offered to provide additional NYPD officers at in-person meetings. 

Sutton told 社区黑料 she was never questioned by the DOE鈥檚 equity council for the alleged OML violations, only regarding her advocacy. state that videoconferencing or hybrid meetings may be permitted under 鈥渆xtraordinary circumstances,鈥� and do not state that violations may result in removal. 

鈥淚f we were so out of compliance, why did you wait until June to remove me?鈥� Sutton said. 鈥淏ecause you were waiting for Maron鈥檚 situation to get so hot that you could remove us together, so you could pretend that what I did is equal to what she did.鈥�  

David Bloomfield, an education law professor with Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center, believes it was no accident Maron and Sutton were removed simultaneously, and questioned the precedent set for free speech. 

鈥淗e seems to be treating them as similar situations and trying to balance the scales by removing a left wing member and a right wing member,鈥� said Bloomfield.

While he did not question Banks鈥檚 legal right to remove Maron and Sutton, Bloomfield charged the precedent set is, 鈥減recisely what the First Amendment is supposed to protect against, which is the chilling of speech and particularly of political speech.鈥� 

Maron is one of three plaintiffs Sutton, Banks and District 14鈥檚 council for violating the First Amendment and suppressing parent voices. She has recently launched a consultancy group called ThirdRail, which promises to 鈥渉elp neutralize counterproductive DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] initiatives鈥� and build 鈥渇lourishing workplaces where ideas 鈥� not ideologies 鈥� inspire strategy.鈥� 

In a move condemned by advocates and lawmakers as an attack on trans students who fear any change to could also increase bullying and violence, passed 8-3 Wednesday evening. 

鈥淲e know sports build self confidence and a sense of belonging, which is especially critical for this group of students. Rather than excluding our trans students we ought to be working together to wrap our arms around them. They need love, encouragement and support, not political attacks,鈥� said NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks Wednesday evening. 

After citing statistics that one in three trans youth are suicidal and one in three are survivors of abuse, Banks called the resolution 鈥渄espicable鈥� and, in an exasperated tone, posed a question: 鈥淲ould you just leave the kids alone?鈥� 

At a packed District 2 community education council meeting, ACLU civil rights lawyer and District 2 parent Chase Strangio pointed out the current gender guidelines align with state law. 鈥淪o this resolution does nothing but target trans young people,鈥� Santiago said. 

鈥淚 will not sit idly by and see the same misinformed efforts be pushed in my own school district. I will not let NYC, the birthplace and home of some of the most powerful trans people in history, be yet another testing ground for rhetoric that expels my community,鈥� said Strangio, who is trans.

The resolution urges that a reevaluation committee be formed to include female athletes, parents, coaches, medical professionals and evolutionary biology experts, and claims current guidelines 鈥減resent challenges鈥� particularly to girls. The resolution鈥檚 primary sponsor, Maud Maron, said the resolution is in essence asking to hear from all 鈥渋mpacted voices,鈥� according to . 

Given the Chancellor鈥檚 condemnation and that community education councils are advisory, it is unlikely DOE leaders will follow the council鈥檚 recommendation. 

In December, Banks also used the word 鈥渄espicable鈥� to describe comments made by Maron in a private chat, which included 鈥渢rans kids don鈥檛 exist.鈥� Parents and advocates have grown increasingly frustrated with the Chancellor鈥� broken promise to 鈥渢ake action,鈥� made more than three months ago. 

In the time since Banks made his pledge, Community Board 2 issued a resolution demanding the DOE acknowledge and require parent leaders adhere to respective guidelines on bullying and fostering a safe learning environment for all students, particularly LGBTQ students. The late February resolution also encouraged penalties for parents found in violation of Chancellor regulations, including verbal and written warnings and/or suspension of involvement.

Separately, several District 2 CEC members wrote in a February email to Banks that went unanswered that parents鈥� and students鈥� rights and protections 鈥渃ontinue to be unabashedly violated.鈥� 

In the district which includes hyper-liberal neighborhoods like Chelsea and Greenwich Village, the resolution and restricting LGBTQ student rights doesn鈥檛 hold broad public support, parents say. 

鈥淭here really wasn’t a debate in our community,鈥� said district 2 parent and CEC member Gavin Healy. 鈥淚t was very much like 鈥榳e don’t like this, we don’t want this.鈥欌��

Dozens of community members spoke out against the gender resolution with only one expressing support. All but two of 175 emails received by the council in advance of its vote were against its passage. 

At least 25 states, concentrated in the south and midwest, have introduced consistent with their gender identity. 

But the resolution鈥檚 introduction and passage in New York City is unsurprising, given parent leaders with conservative-leaning education desires endorsed by Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum make up . The group, known as PLACE, was co-founded by Maron. 

鈥淚 think they really want something that they can take back to Moms for Liberty and use it as a PR stunt 鈥� look, even in Manhattan there’s this concern,鈥� said Healy. 鈥淚t has to do with that national, moral panic that they are fueling. It鈥檚 fodder.鈥�

Conservative parent voices have been rising in the city. Moms for Liberty, which advocates for parental rights and is categorized as an extremist hate organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center, opened its first chapter in NYC last year. Maron spoke on a the group held in January. 

This particular gender resolution is 鈥渓egally unenforceable and dangerous,鈥� said David Bloomfield, Brooklyn College education, law and public policy professor. A is currently underway in suburban Nassau County, New York, where a attempted to ban trans women and girls from public athletic facilities. 

Bloomfield said Maron was 鈥�…exercising her rights as an individual and as an elected official to state her policy preferences, which have been no secret. She’s following through essentially on what her voters asked for,鈥� adding in the past, chancellors such as Richard Carranza have

The gender resolution passed on the same night the council passed another seemingly at odds, one affirming support of LGBTQ students and families. Maron was the only council member to abstain from voting on the resolution in support of LGBTQ students. 

Since December, a petition to have Maron removed from the Stuyvesant High School leadership team has . It circulated after she was quoted in a NY Post article calling an anonymous student author a 鈥渃oward,鈥� accusing them of 鈥淛ew hatred,鈥� calling for their name to be public for their op-ed in the student newspaper.

Many parents and students feel her actions constituted bullying and threaten free speech at the school.

鈥淭he mission is the kids. Getting through the classes. Keeping them safe 鈥� They just don’t need this added pressure,鈥� said one parent speaking on condition of anonymity. 鈥淸Maron] politicizes every situation she can and I feel like any statement she makes is for her own personal gain. It’s not for the school, it’s not for the students.鈥� 

Reem Khalifa, a junior at Stuyvesant, said recent events have been disheartening and made her 鈥渇earful for the people around me. Do they recognize and hold the same beliefs?鈥� 

Maron did not return a request for comment. 

鈥淭he DOE is trying to shield themselves from liability,鈥� said Healy, 鈥渆ven if that means leaving people in the community vulnerable.鈥� 

In early March, Schools Chancellor David Banks announced he would eliminate the executive superintendent role from the Department of Education鈥檚 internal structure and require district superintendents to re-apply for their jobs. The shifts received a in The New York Times story covering the chancellor鈥檚 remarks, his first major address as head of the DOE.

But to Bronx parent Ilka Rios, the news hit like a thunderbolt.

鈥淚nitially, when [the chancellor] made the announcement, at that point, I didn’t hear nothing else that came out of his mouth,鈥� she said.

To her, the update meant only one thing: Her borough, which suffers the city鈥檚 highest poverty rates and lowest high school graduation rates, would lose a leader who had finally started to turn around the area鈥檚 schools, Erika Tobia.

鈥淒r. Tobia has been a godsend to the Bronx,鈥� Rios told 社区黑料. 鈥淓very time the Bronx finds someone to help them get better, it’s like someone from downtown swoops in and removes them.鈥�

A 30-year education veteran in the borough, Tobia had only assumed her post as executive superintendent 11 months prior. The position itself was created just three years earlier in 2018 under former Chancellor Richard Carranza, who to increase oversight and support for district superintendents.聽

With a total of eight positions, one or two per borough, eliminating the posts will save millions of dollars, said Chancellor Banks, who founded a Bronx high school early in his career.聽

鈥淲e want to push those dollars closer to schools,鈥� the chancellor later said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 all this is about.鈥�

The idea that parents would rally to preserve an additional layer of bureaucracy is hardly typical and, indeed, not all parents are equally enamored with their executive superintendent. In Brooklyn, Yuli Hsu praised the chancellor鈥檚 move.

鈥溾�嬧�媁hen the previous chancellor added the executive level of superintendents, to me it just added another level of expense and bureaucracy,鈥� she told 社区黑料. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 really noticed any impactful change since [Executive Superintendent Karen Watts] arrived鈥� in her role in North Brooklyn.

社区黑料 reached out directly to each of the city鈥檚 eight executive superintendents. None responded.

In the Bronx, Tobia鈥檚 parent-first style won families over.

The leader ran food drives, held sessions to build trust between campus police and families and launched a series of 鈥溾�� for adult education that regularly drew dozens of participants. Every month, Tobia held gatherings 鈥� dubbed 鈥渏ust us鈥� meetings because she honored parents鈥� request that no other district officials attend 鈥� for families to share their education concerns, said Rios, who was president of the Community Education Council in the borough鈥檚 District聽 12 for nearly a decade.

鈥淔or us in the Bronx, it鈥檚 really important because we never had that voice before,鈥� said Farah Despeignes, District 8鈥檚 CEC president. 鈥淭hat is why parents are so upset鈥� that they would eliminate that position.鈥�

With parents and school leaders across the city looking to get a handle on the new administration鈥檚 education agenda, they say how the chancellor moves forward with his planned shakeup will be an early test of his priorities and willingness to incorporate community voices.

So far, Rios remains unsatisfied.

鈥淭he chancellor nor the mayor, neither one of them brought us to the table to ask us parent leaders how it was working with [Tobia],鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey just made the decision, 鈥榃e’re eliminating the position.鈥� And I get it, eliminate the position, but then tell us, you’re going to put her somewhere else in the district.鈥�

Despeignes penned a December letter on behalf of her parent organization, , to then Mayor-elect Eric Adams urging him to consider the Bronx executive superintendent for a post where she could engage with and uplift families across the city.

Banks has dropped indicators that he may still heed their advice. While the executive superintendent role will be going away at the end of this school year, some of those leaders 鈥渕ay reappear in other positions鈥� in the DOE, he said.

During a two days after the chancellor鈥檚 announcement, Bronx Assemblywoman Chantel Jackson pressed Banks on his choice to get rid of the position prized by many of her constituents.

The chancellor empathized: 鈥淚鈥檝e heard from a lot of parents in the Bronx who are really supportive of the Executive Superintendent Tobia,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e become very fond of her myself in the two months that I鈥檝e been here and I鈥檝e seen her work 鈥� so stay tuned.鈥�

鈥淲e are working diligently to finalize the execution of [the chancellor鈥檚] announcement and additional details are forthcoming,鈥� a DOE spokesperson wrote in a March 14 email to 社区黑料.

The Power of Community! When we come together鈥e can achieve anything!

鈥� Erika Tobia (@BxSuptTobia)

Experts agreed with that, structurally, the role 鈥渁dds a level of bureaucracy without adding enough value to schools and students.鈥� According to David Bloomfield, the extra layer actually restricts the authority of local leaders.

鈥淭he executive superintendents handcuffed the superintendents, and now the superintendents will be freer,鈥� said the Brooklyn College and CUNY Graduate Center education professor. 

鈥淭his is a win-win,鈥� he added. Because there will now be 46 superintendents 鈥� presumably some of them new faces after the reapplication process 鈥� reporting to the chancellor rather than eight executive superintendents, 鈥渢he chancellor鈥檚 office is going to have more information to assess its policies and the principals and superintendents will be able to act with more discretion.鈥�

Since taking office in January, Banks has repeatedly vowed to improve the city鈥檚 schools 鈥溾�� by giving principals more autonomy, an agenda item reminiscent of the Bloomberg era.

Parent leaders like Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, of Harlem, say their schools became more responsive to the community once the executive superintendent role was introduced.

鈥淭here was a systemic issue in my district where parents were not empowered and parents didn鈥檛 have a voice,鈥� Salas-Ramirez told 社区黑料. 鈥淲hen the executive superintendents were put in place, Marisol [Rosales, the Manhattan leader at the time,] was incredibly responsive to parents on the ground.鈥�

That indicates, said Andrea Gabor, author of , not that another layer of bureaucracy was necessary, but that perhaps Salas-Ramirez鈥檚 district superintendents weren鈥檛 properly doing their job.

鈥淚n an ideal world, teachers and principals should be the ones who are responsive to parents,鈥� the Baruch College professor told 社区黑料. 鈥淵ou should not have to go through a four-layer cake in order to get some kind of a response.鈥�

The DOE took a similar stance: “[School] leaders will be successful when they work closely with families. 鈥� There are phenomenal schools in every neighborhood across the city, and it is our responsibility to cut bureaucracy and grow what is working at the school-level,鈥� said Press Secretary Nathaniel Styer.

Still, based on her experience in the Bronx, Despeignes pushed back. 

鈥淵es, it is another layer of bureaucracy鈥� but it’s a layer of bureaucracy that is needed because it brings all the schools and all the superintendents under one tent,鈥� she said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not outlandish,鈥� noted Bloomfield, to eliminate executive superintendents in most boroughs, but keep them on a case-by-case basis in areas where they鈥檙e making a positive impact, perhaps like the Bronx.

Back in Brooklyn, District 14 Community Education Council President Tajh Sutton said the bulk of the Adams鈥檚 administration鈥檚 work building families鈥� trust is still to come.

鈥淚’m happy to see one layer of the bureaucracy go, but what does that look like in practice? And how does it improve the lives and interactions between families and districts on the ground?鈥� she wonders. 鈥淎re we talking to the most marginalized members of each district community to really try to get a sense of, 鈥業s this superintendent effective? Is this principal effective?鈥欌��

Hsu, also on the District 14 CEC, agrees. She鈥檚 been frustrated by the lack of action after she raised concerns over anti-Asian racism her kids and others have experienced in school, she said. To her, re-ordering the DOE鈥檚 organizational chart is not enough.

鈥淵ou’re just kind of shuffling pieces of a broken system around,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat I really want to hear is about meaningful change from the ground up and meaningful engagement with parents.鈥�

鈥淚 think the school experience is gone. People aren’t even showing up.鈥�

鈥淚 avoid the cafeteria now.鈥�

NYC students explain why they walked out of class.

Thousands of students from more than 29 New York City public schools abandoned their classes Tuesday walking out into frigid weather, demanding a remote learning option as Omicron surges and they feel unsafe at school.

As COVID cases rise and attendance remains unpredictable, New York City parents, students and teachers uncomfortable with in-person learning took to social media.

From coast to coast, Oakland and Boston students will soon stage their own walkouts.

One student鈥檚 reddit post last week described being in school as 鈥渂eyond control,鈥� detailing a day of absent teachers and 鈥渇unctionally no learning.鈥� Study halls became 鈥渟uperspreader events.鈥� Bathrooms were full of students taking COVID tests. 

Teachers abandoned their classes when notified they had tested positive. Skipping class became 鈥渞idiculously easy,鈥� the student wrote.

An anonymous student that their parents are forcing her to go to school despite testing positive for COVID.

Despite last week鈥檚 low attendance and 2022 first major snowstorm, Mayor Eric Adams has consistently opposed closing schools or offering a remote learning option.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have any more days to waste and the long-term impact of leaving our children home is going to impact us for years to come,鈥� Adams said, stressing schools are 鈥渟anctuaries.鈥� 

Students left the conditions they called unsafe in hopes of garnering attention from 鈥減olicy-makers that can help close down schools temporarily,鈥� organizers said in .

Cruz Warshaw, a Stuyvesant High School Junior behind the walkout, charged it was 鈥渋gnorant and inconsiderate to put people鈥檚 lives at risk for without reason.鈥� 

Three more juniors and seniors from Brooklyn Technical and Stuyvesant High Schools created social media accounts to share walkout plans and information on what they鈥檙e asking for 鈥� and why: 

Before long, students from more than two dozen of the city鈥檚 schools said they would join in. The plan: Leave school at 11:52 a.m. 鈥� right before sixth period, around lunchtime for many 鈥� and head straight home. 

Right on time and one after the other, Brooklyn Technical High School students did just that.

By lunchtime, the cafeteria in New York鈥檚 largest school 鈥� by enrollment 鈥� looked like this:

Their exit was met with backlash, accusations they simply wanted the day off 鈥� and that they were probably all going to hang out. 

This Brooklyn student insisted that wasn鈥檛 the case:

However, some participants faced more than online anger. A redacted email from a Brooklyn school official threatened students with mandatory detentions upon their return.

鈥淭here are so many people sick and our mayor is not doing enough to protect us 鈥� We want the choice to keep our bodies safe,鈥� Felicia, a junior at Bronx High School of Science told The Riverdale Press reporter Sarah Belle Lin during Tuesday鈥檚 walkout.

Some of the city鈥檚 youngest learners, alongside parents, also joined the .

Many students and parents disagree with offering a remote option and point to its shortcomings, including that . 

While attendance is , it is up 9 percent . 

A few hours after the walkout, New York Schools Chancellor David Banks responded to the protests, asking student leaders to meet with him to work together for safe and open schools.