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COMMITTEES
Banks
Cities
Consumer Affairs and Protection
MICAH Z. KELLNER
Assembly Member, 65th
District
December 19, 2012
Dennis Walcott
ChancellorNew York City Department of Education
52 Chambers StreetNew York, NY 10007
Dear Chancellor Walcott:
I am writing in regards to a recent change by the New York City Department of
Education without first obtaining the requisite approval, that eliminates preferences inadmissions to Gifted and Talented (G&T) programs for siblings of current students. Parents
throughout Community Education District 2 who are parents of G&T students have contactedmy office protesting this change, which now gives preference to siblings only as a tiebreaker in
the case of identical scores on the G&T test.
Parents have expressed concerns that, while G&T siblings will no longer receive thispreference, siblings will continue to receive preference at non-G&T programs throughout the
City. This policy change will also require many parents to transport their children to and fromdifferent schools—frequently within different school zones—placing an obvious and tremendous
strain on parents’ ability to balance parenting and working. For this reason, parents haverequested that the decision to eliminate the longstanding sibling preference for G&T programs
policy be reversed and that parents of current students be grandfathered in through the newpolicy whether or not the policy is reversed.
Equally disturbing, however, was that the DOE implemented this radical shift to a policy
set forth in Chancellor’s Regulation A-101 without allowing for any public comment—as isrequired by New York State Education Law § 2590-g—or issuing any public notice. The Panel
for Education Policy (PEP) is not scheduled to vote on this change to sibling preferences untilDecember 20, 2012 yet the DOE included the new policy in a G&T handbook it published in
October 2012.
It is unacceptable for the DOE to implement a material change to admissions policywithout a public hearing. It sends an arrogant message to parents that their valuable feedback is
meaningless to DOE. I request that DOE immediately reinstate the G&T sibling preference until
a public hearing is held, and strongly urge that DOE heed the input of the parents it is supposedto serve before putting forward to the PEP any amendment to Chancellor’s Regulations.
Sincerely,
Micah Z. KellnerMember of Assembly
ALBANY OFFICE: Room 654, Legislative Office Building, Albany, New York 12248 • 518-455-5676, FAX: 518-455-5282DISTRICT OFFICE: 1365 First Avenue, New York, New York 10021 • 212-860-4906, FAX: 917-432-2983
EMAIL: [email protected]
THE ASSEMBLY
STATE OF NEW YORK
ALBANYRacing and Wagering
Steering
