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New York City elementary and middle school students may soon have a greater say in shaping their education by joining their school leadership teams — and earn $300 doing so.
School leadership teams, or SLTs, are committees of educators and parents that collaborate to develop and evaluate school policies aimed at improving student outcomes and ensuring that a school’s goals and budget align. Through a shared decision-making process, these teams create a sort of blueprint for the school year, known as a “comprehensive education plan.” Under state law, all schools are required to have these governing bodies, and when Mayor Zohran Mamdani pledged a more democratic model of mayoral control, he said he would tap the existing infrastructure of parent involvement, including SLTs.
The city already requires high school SLTs to include at least two students. An Education Department proposal to update SLT regulations would mandate middle schools include at least two student members and would encourage elementary schools to include students as well. (All SLT members can get a remuneration of $300 for completing 30 hours of SLT work, including training. In the summer, they may receive an additional $10 per hour for up to 10 hours.)
“School Leadership Teams are most effective when they reflect the voices of the communities they serve, including students,” Education Department spokesperson Chyann Tull said in a statement. “As we continue strengthening family and student engagement, we are focusing on expanding meaningful opportunities for young people to participate in school-level decision-making, so that school policies and priorities are informed by those closest to the student experience.”
But will students sign up to be on these committees?
About 125 high schools — or nearly a quarter — have no student representatives assigned to their SLTs, Education Department officials said. Roughly 370 high schools have at least two student members identified on their SLT rosters, and another 30 have at least one student member listed.
More broadly, SLTs must have at least 10 members, including a school’s principal, its teachers union chapter leader, and parent teacher association president, along with other school staffers and parents in equal numbers. And about 10% of schools across the city do not have the minimum 10 SLT members, as required, officials said.
SLTs were codified in state law in 2004 and haven’t been updated since 2010.
The new regulations propose adding other members to SLTs in addition to students. At schools that receive federal Title 1 funding — generally those with at least 60% of students living in poverty — the proposed regulations would also mandate the Title 1 Parent Advisory Chair serve on SLTs. It encourages schools to make their “best effort” to include staffers from DC37, the union that represents cafeteria workers, crossing guards, and substance abuse specialists as well as parent coordinators. Parent coordinators are not allowed to serve on the committees due to potential conflicts of interest representing parents but reporting to principals.
The updated regulations, which are expected to be voted on June 17 by the Panel for Educational Policy, say they clarify election procedures for SLT members as well as the open meetings law requirements when conducting meetings, among other things. Some education advocates, however, say the updates didn’t go far enough when it comes to open meetings and had been calling for remote access for observers.
The city solicited feedback on the proposed regulations, posted May 1, and as of Tuesday, received just 14 responses, including calls for more transparency in how the meetings are run and promoted. Though these meetings are open to the school community at-large and the public in general, they rarely attract non-members. One commenter pushed back on excluding parent coordinators since they are so involved in daily school operations.
Lisa Donlan, a former parent leader from Manhattan’s District 1, who led training sessions as part of the district leadership team for SLTs, said she focused on empowering these committees to help them “grow” their school’s sense of community rather than making them feel like a “coffee clatch.”
“The work is creating the goals of the school for the following school year and creating actions plans — and then seeing if those goals are met,” Donlan said.
For parents, she added, “you forget that you’re not just serving on the SLT, your job is to represent the parents.”
(People can send comments on the proposal to Panel for Educational Policy on the proposal through June 15. District 1’s Neighborhood School PTA Advocacy meeting, which is open to the public, is hosting an 8:30 a.m. discussion at the school, located at 121 E. 3rd St., on the proposed SLT regulations and co-governance in city schools on June 17, before the panel votes on the proposal.)
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Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy atazimmer@chalkbeat.org.
