NYC DOE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAM MEETINGS MUST BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
On behalf of the Honorable Letitia James, the Public Advocate for the City of New York, and Class Size Matters, a public school advocacy organization, Advocates for Justice (AFJ) and the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) successfully intervened in a case before Justice Peter H. Moulton, New York County Supreme Court, to argue that School Leadership Teams (SLTs), which are part of the organizational structure of the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE), must be open to the public under New York State’s Open Meetings Law. AFJ and NYLPI challenged the DOE’s existing policy that SLTs were merely “advisory” and therefore could be closed to the public by the DOE, despite their statutory authority to determine a school’s curriculum and to work in tandem with the school’s principal to align the school’s budget to that curriculum. Following oral argument, Justice Moulton agreed with AFJ and NYLPI and held that SLTs have a critical function in the organization of the NYCDOE and must be open to the public. See the decision here: Thomas v DOE – decision and judgment
