Res 1400-2020

By Council Member Powers Whereas, The New York City Department of Education (DOE) is the largest public school system in the United States (U.S.) with approximately 1.1 million students; and Whereas, As of September 2019, there are 1,866 schools within the DOE including 260 charter schools; and Whereas, DOE's policies and procedures regarding student admissions and transfers are detailed in Chancellor's Regulation A-101 and are implemented through the Office of Student Enrollment; and Whereas, Admission to all school levels (pre-K, elementary, middle school and high school) is now centralized and in all cases applications can be submitted online, or in person at a Family Welcome Center; and Whereas, At all levels, students can apply to up to 12 schools or programs in order of preference; and Whereas, Admissions priorities for elementary school, which starts with Kindergarten, are primarily based on whether the student lives in the zone or district served by the school and whether they have a sibling at the school; and Whereas, Most elementary students attend their "zoned" elementary school, which means they live in an area zoned for a specific school, but can also apply to any non-zoned schools in their district or borough; and Whereas, However, at the middle school and high school levels, there are far fewer zoned schools; and Whereas, Admissions priorities vary for each non-zoned school or program and there are a variety of admissions methods; and Whereas, For some programs, applicants receive admissions offers based on random selection, while for other programs, applicants are evaluated based on selection criteria and then ranked based on that evaluation; and Whereas, Programs that admit students based on specific selection criteria such as academic record, talent, or English Language Learner status are called "screened" programs; and Whereas, Schools and programs that use a screened admission method evaluate applicants based on selection criteria that may include report card grades, standardized test scores, internal assessments, and/or attendance and punctuality, which are then used to rank students based on that evaluation; and Whereas, Admissions offers are made to ranked students by priority group and in ranking number order; and Whereas, Using a student's attendance record, including the number of absences and/or late arrivals to school, for admissions eligibility to various schools and programs is problematic as it is often out of the student's control; and Whereas, Tardiness may be caused by the student's parent or other challenging circumstances such as transportation problems, and should not be held against the student; and Whereas, Similarly, an elementary or middle school student's absence is generally determined by a parent and may be due to illness or appointments with medical professionals or social service offices, or other critical needs and therefore should not be held against the student; and Whereas, Further, it is important to encourage students who are sick to remain at home and not come to school where they can spread the illness to others; and Whereas, In fact, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent closure of school buildings in March 2020 for the remainder of the school year, the DOE temporarily suspended use of attendance in determining admissions in the upcoming school year in recognition of the extraordinary circumstances some students faced; and Whereas, DOE's temporary suspension of attendance measures for use in admissions criteria should be made permanent; and Whereas, Counting absences against students in school admissions provides a strong incentive for students to come to school even when they are sick; and Whereas, To safeguard students' health, as well as to fairly evaluate students based on criteria that are under their control; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York City Department of Education to remove attendance measures as criteria for admissions to screened schools and programs in New York City public schools. LS# 13842 JA 6/30/20 2