Section 2590-H - [Effective 6/30/2026] Powers and duties of chancellorThe office of chancellor of the city district is hereby continued. It shall be filled by a person employed by the city board by contract for a term not to exceed by more than one year the term of office of the city board authorizing such contract, subject to removal for cause. The chancellor shall receive a salary to be fixed by the city board within the budgetary allocation therefor. He or she shall exercise all his or her powers and duties in a manner not inconsistent with the policies of the city board. The chancellor shall have the following powers and duties as the superintendent of schools and chief executive officer for the city district, which the chancellor shall exercise to promote an equal educational opportunity for all students in the schools of the city district, promote fiscal and educational equity, increase student achievement and school performance and encourage local school-based innovation, including the power and duty to:
1. Control and operate: (a) academic and vocational senior high schools until such time as the same may be transferred to the jurisdiction of appropriate community boards pursuant to this article;(b) all specialized senior high schools. The special high schools shall include the present schools known as: The Bronx High School of Science, Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn Technical High School, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and the Arts in the borough of Manhattan, and such further schools which the city board may designate from time to time. The special schools shall be permitted to maintain a discovery program in accordance with the law in effect on the date preceding the effective date of this section; admissions to the special schools shall be conducted in accordance with the law in effect on the date preceding the effective date of this section;
(c) all special education programs and services conducted pursuant to this chapter;(d) subject to the provisions of section twenty-five hundred ninety-i of this article, devolving powers to the schools, city-wide programs for city-wide services to a substantial number of persons from more than one community district, including transportation; food services; payroll and personnel functions, including pension and retirement services; and enforcement of laws and regulations promoting equal opportunity in employment, access to public accommodations and facilities, equal opportunity in education, and preventing and addressing unlawful discrimination; provided, however, that a community district may also operate within its district programs which provide similar services otherwise authorized by this article.2. Establish, control and operate new schools or programs of the types specified in subdivision one of this section, or to discontinue any such schools and programs as he or she may determine; provided, however, that he shall consult with the affected community board before: (a) substantially expanding or reducing such an existing school or program within a community district;(b) initially utilizing a community district school or facility for such a school or program;(c) instituting any new program within a community district.3. Subject to the approval of the city board, develop a plan to provide for the establishment of comprehensive high schools within the city district so that every community district shall have available to its graduates further education and a comprehensive high school. Such plan may provide for the conversion of academic and vocational high schools and may be amended or modified from time to time.4. Appoint teacher-aides for the schools and programs under his or her jurisdiction within the budgetary allocation therefor.5. Retain jurisdiction over all employees who are required in connection with the performance of duties with respect to the design, construction, operation and maintenance of all school buildings in the city school district. Such employees shall have all rights accorded them under the provisions of the civil service law, including manner of appointment, classification, promotion, transfer and removal including an opportunity to be heard provided, however, that each custodian shall be responsible for the performance of his duties to the principal of the school who shall be responsible to the district superintendent.6. Employ or retain counsel subject to the powers and duties of the corporation counsel of the city of New York to be his or her attorney and counsel pursuant to subdivision a of section three hundred ninety-four of the New York city charter; provided, however, that in actions or proceedings between the city board or the chancellor and one or more community boards, the city board or the chancellor shall be represented by the corporation counsel of the city of New York.7. To continue existing voluntary programs or to establish new programs under which students may choose to attend a public school in another community district.8. Promulgate minimum clear educational standards, curriculum requirements and frameworks, and mandatory educational objectives applicable to all schools and programs throughout the city district, and examine and evaluate periodically all such schools and programs with respect to(i) compliance with such educational standards and other requirements, and(ii) the educational effectiveness of such schools and programs, in a manner not inconsistent with the policies of the city board.9. Furnish community boards and the city board periodically with the results of such examinations and evaluations and to make the same public.10. Require each community superintendent to make an annual report covering all matters relating to schools under the district's jurisdiction including, but not limited to, the evaluation of the educational effectiveness of such schools and programs connected therewith.11. Require such community board or superintendent to make such number of periodic reports as may be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter.13. Perform the following functions throughout the city district; provided, however, that the chancellor and any community board may agree that any such function may be appropriately performed by the community board with respect to the schools and programs under its jurisdiction:(a) Technical assistance to community districts and schools;(b) Such warehouse space on a regional basis as he or she determines to be necessary or appropriate after consultation with the community superintendents;(c) Purchasing services on a city-wide, regional or community district basis subject to subdivision thirty-six of this section;(d) Reinforce and foster connections to institutions of higher education to promote student achievement.14. Develop and furnish pre-service and in-service training programs for principals and other employees throughout the city district. In addition, the chancellor shall prepare and annually update a training plan for participating parents, and school personnel, which shall include, at minimum, such training as may be required for exercise of their responsibilities, full participation and compliance with the provisions of this section. The chancellor shall, in addition, within amounts appropriated, allocate sufficient funds directly and to the superintendents for teacher and principal training to meet identified needs for school improvement.15. Promote the involvement and appropriate input of all members of the school community pursuant to the provisions of this article, including parents, teachers, and other school personnel, including:(a) establishing a parents' association or a parent-teachers' association in each school under the chancellor's jurisdiction; and ensuring that the districts do the same;(b) pursuant to a plan prepared in consultation with associations of parents, and representatives of teachers, supervisors, paraprofessionals and other school personnel within the city district, and promulgated no later than January thirty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, (i) taking all necessary steps to ensure that no later than October first, nineteen hundred ninety-nine, the city district and the community districts are in full compliance, and remain in compliance thereafter, with state and federal law and regulations concerning school-based management and shared decision-making, including section 100.11 of the commissioner's regulations, in a manner which balances participation by parents with participation by school personnel in advising in the decisions devolved to schools pursuant to sections twenty five hundred ninety-i and twenty-five hundred ninety-r of this article, and (ii) pursuant to such plan providing for appropriate training to any parent and school personnel who participate in the school-based management and shared decision-making process; and (c) developing, in consultation with associations of parents in the city district, and implementing no later than October first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, a parental bill of rights which provides for, at minimum: (i) reasonable access by parents, persons in parental relation and guardians to schools, classrooms, and academic and attendance records of their own children, consistent with federal and state laws, provided that such access does not disrupt or interfere with the regular school process;(ii) the rights of parents, persons in parental relation and guardians to take legal action and appeal the decisions of the school administration, as authorized by law;(iii) the right of parents, persons in parental relation and guardians to have information on their own child's educational materials;(iv) access to and information about all public meetings, hearings of the chancellor, the city board, the community superintendents, the community boards, and the schools; and(v) access to information regarding programs that allow students to apply for admission where appropriate to schools outside a student's own attendance zone. The chancellor shall by rule or regulation provide for the involvement including membership, in any parents' association or parent-teacher association established pursuant to this subdivision, of a grandparent who is in parental relation to a child who attends a school within the jurisdiction of the community school district. For purposes of this subdivision, a grandparent shall be considered to be in parental relation to a child when such grandparent has assumed care of such child because such child's parents are not available due to death, imprisonment, mental illness, living outside the state, abandonment of the child, or other circumstances. A determination of whether a grandparent is in parental relation to a child shall be based upon the individual circumstances surrounding guardianship and custodial care of such child.
16. Promulgate such rules and regulations as he or she may determine to be necessary or convenient to accomplish the purposes of this act, not inconsistent with the provisions of this article and the policies of the city board.17. Possess those powers and duties described in section twenty-five hundred fifty-four of this chapter, the exercise of which shall be in a manner not inconsistent with the provisions of this article and the policies of the city board.18. Possess those powers and duties contained in section nine hundred twelve of this chapter and those provisions of article fifteen thereof which relate to non-public schools, those powers and duties contained in section five hundred twenty-two of the New York city charter and those powers and duties contained in article seventy-three of this chapter, the exercise of which shall be in a manner not inconsistent with the provisions of this article and the policies of the city board.19. Delegate any of his or her powers and duties to such subordinate officers or employees as he or she deems appropriate and to modify or rescind any power and duty so delegated.20. Ensure compliance with qualifications established for all personnel employed in the city district, including the taking of fingerprints as a prerequisite for licensure and/or employment of such personnel. Every set of fingerprints taken pursuant to this subdivision shall be promptly submitted to the division of criminal justice services where it shall be appropriately processed. Furthermore, the division of criminal justice services is authorized to submit the fingerprints to the federal bureau of investigation for a national criminal history record check.21. Perform the functions of the bureau of audit throughout the city district, including ensuring compliance with subdivisions thirty-six and thirty-seven of this section.22. Establish uniform procedures for record keeping, accounting and reporting throughout the city district, including pupil record keeping, accounting and reporting.23. Develop an educational facilities master plan, and revisions thereto, as defined in section twenty-five hundred ninety-o of this article.24. Develop and implement a five-year educational facilities capital plan, and amendments thereto, as defined in section twenty-five hundred ninety-p of this article. The chancellor shall also appoint a person, who reports directly to the chancellor or his or her designee, to assist in the development and implementation of such plan and amendments thereto and to oversee the school buildings program.25. On the chancellor's own initiative, or at the request of a community superintendent, transfer a principal employed by a community school district pursuant to an agreement with the employee organization representing such principals. The chancellor shall establish a procedure for consulting with affected parents to explain any such transfer. Consistent with section twenty-five hundred ninety-i of this article, including without limitation subdivision three thereof, and subdivision one thereof with respect to the rights and obligations of a school to which a principal is transferred, in addition to any other law providing for the transfer of principals, the chancellor also may cause the transfer or removal of principals for persistent educational failure, conflicts of interest, and ethics violations, and may require principals to participate in training and other remedial programs to address identified factors affecting student achievement and school performance.26. Establish educational and experience qualifications and requirements for all custodial positions including, but not limited to, custodians and custodial engineers and develop standards for evaluating the performance of all such individuals, subject to approval of the city board. Such performance standards shall include, but not be limited to: the cleanliness of facilities; adequacy and timeliness of minor repairs; maintenance of good working order of facilities and grounds; general facilities improvement; and emergency services. The chancellor shall promulgate regulations setting forth the respective responsibilities of the district plant manager, which shall include regular consultation and ongoing reports to the community superintendent, and the principal of each school for evaluating the performance of the custodial employees assigned to his or her school, in accordance with such performance standards, and such performance evaluations shall be given dominant weight in any decision for the purposes of: advancement; continued employment; building transfers; and other performance incentives. The responsibility of the principal of each school in the evaluation of custodial employees may be a matter for collective bargaining with collective bargaining representatives for principals.27. Develop, in conjunction with each community superintendent, a plan for providing access to school facilities in each community school district, when not in use for school purposes, in accordance with the provisions of section four hundred fourteen of this chapter. Such plan shall set forth a reasonable system of fees not to exceed the actual costs and specify that no part of any fee shall directly or indirectly benefit or be deposited into an account which inures to the benefit of the custodians or custodial engineers.28. Establish, subject to the approval of the city board, a publicly-inclusive process for the recruitment, screening and selection of district superintendent candidates.29. Promulgate regulations, subject to the approval of the city board, establishing educational, managerial, and administrative qualifications, performance record criteria, and performance standards for the positions of superintendent and principal.30. Select a community superintendent from candidates recommended by community boards, based upon compliance with the procedures for selection required by subdivision twenty-eight of this section, the qualifications required by subdivision twenty-nine of this section, and consistent with a model contract developed by the chancellor.30-a. Remove a community superintendent who fails to comply with the provisions of subdivision two of section twenty-five hundred ninety-f of this article.31. Intervene in any district or school which is persistently failing to achieve educational results and standards approved by the city board or established by the state board of regents, or has failed to improve its educational results and student achievement in accordance with such standards or state or city board requirements, or in any school or district in which there exists, in the chancellor's judgment, a state of uncontrolled or unaddressed violence. The chancellor may, in addition to exercising any other powers authorized by this article, require such school principal, or district as the case may be, to prepare a corrective action plan, with a timetable for implementation of steps acceptable to the chancellor to reach improvement goals consistent with city board standards and educational results. The chancellor may require the school or district to alter or improve the corrective action plan, or may directly modify the plan. The chancellor shall monitor implementation of the plan, and, if the school or district fails to implement it, may supersede any inconsistent decision of the school principal, community board or community superintendent; assume joint or direct control of the operation of the school or district to implement the corrective action plan; or take any other action authorized by this article. Any action of the chancellor to supercede an inconsistent decision of the school principal, community board or community superintendent, or to assume joint or direct control of the operation of the school or district pursuant to this subdivision may be appealed to the city board in accordance with section twenty-five hundred ninety-g of this article.32. Appoint a deputy, for each borough of the city of New York, responsible for coordinating and periodically meeting and consulting with the borough president, the chancellor and the community superintendents in the borough on borough-specific issues and issues of borough-wide significance, including the provision of services in support of schools and community districts such as transportation, purchasing, capital planning, and coordination with municipal services, and chancellor and city board policy with respect to the high schools.33. Require community school board members to participate in training and retraining in order to promote district and school performance and student achievement, as a continuing condition for membership.35. Take all necessary steps to promote the effectiveness and integrity of school-based budgeting pursuant to section twenty-five hundred ninety-r of this article, including the obligations imposed by subdivision thirty-seven of this section.36. Develop in consultation with the city board, a procurement policy for the city school district of the city of New York, and the districts and public schools therein. Such policy shall ensure the wise and prudent use of public money in the best interest of the taxpayers of the state; guard against favoritism, improvidence, extravagance, fraud and corruption; and ensure that contracts are awarded consistent with law and on the basis of best value, including, but not limited to, the following criteria: quality, cost and efficiency. Such policy shall also include: (a) standards for quality, function and utility of all material goods, supplies and services purchased by the chancellor, superintendents or schools; (b) regulations for the purchase of material goods, supplies and services by the chancellor, the superintendents and the schools, including clearly articulated procedures which require a clear statement of product specifications, requirements or work to be performed, a documentable process of soliciting bids, proposals or other offers, and a balanced and fair method, established in advance of receipt of offers, for evaluating offers and awarding contracts; (c) regulations which enable superintendents and schools to purchase material goods, supplies and services directly from vendors or suppliers when such products are available at prices or other terms more economically beneficial for the purposes of the acquiring superintendent or school; and (d) regulations shall include repair services and building supplies, as defined in such regulations, for expenditures from each district's minor repair and purchasing funds pursuant to section twenty-five hundred ninety-r of this article. 37. Establish, subject to the approval of the city board, guidelines and a system of internal controls, including internal administrative controls and internal accounting controls, with provisions for internal audits, as such terms are defined in section nine hundred fifty of the executive law. Such system shall also include a system of internal control review designed to identify weaknesses and identify actions to rectify them; a clear and concise statement of the generally applicable management policies and standards made available to each officer and employee relevant to fiscal and expenditure control, in addition to education and training efforts to ensure adequate understanding of internal control standards and evaluation techniques; and the designation of an internal control officer for each community district, each of whom shall report to the chancellor and the auditor general, to execute a regular internal audit function which shall operate in accordance with generally accepted governmental auditing standards. The internal auditors for the community districts shall operate in cooperation with the auditor general, appointed by the chancellor subject to the approval of the city board, who shall, in addition to the functions of the internal auditors, monitor and conduct random audits of school districts at least once every two years for fraud, waste and mismanagement. Notwithstanding any provision of state law or state, city or city board regulation, the internal auditors, and the auditor general, shall be entitled, upon their request, to all and any documents and materials bearing in their judgment on the finances and cost-effectiveness of the schools and the school districts that is in the possession of the community districts, the schools, or any officer thereof.38. to exercise all of the duties and responsibilities of the employing board as set forth in section three thousand twenty-a of this chapter with respect to any member of the teaching or supervisory staff of schools under the jurisdiction of the community boards. The chancellor shall exercise all such duties and responsibilities for all community districts or may delegate the exercise of all such duties and responsibilities to all of the community superintendents of the city district.Amended by New York Laws 2024, ch. 56,Sec. ZZ-7, eff. 4/20/2024.Amended by New York Laws 2024, ch. 56,Sec. ZZ-6, eff. 4/20/2024.Amended by New York Laws 2024, ch. 56,Sec. AA-5, eff. 4/20/2024.Amended by New York Laws 2023, ch. 669,Sec. 11, eff. 5/15/2024.Amended by New York Laws 2023, ch. 669,Sec. 3, eff. 5/15/2024.Amended by New York Laws 2023, ch. 604,Sec. 2, eff. 2/22/2024, exp. 6/30/2024 or 2/22/2034, whichever shall occur earlier.Amended by New York Laws 2022, ch. 364, Secs. 6, 7, 9, 10 eff. 6/30/2022.Amended by New York Laws 2020, ch. 56, Sec. A-28, eff. 4/3/2020, op. 4/1/2020.Amended by New York Laws 2019, ch. 145, Sec. 21, eff. 9/5/2019.Amended by New York Laws 2019, ch. 98, Sec. 5, eff. 7/15/2019.Amended by New York Laws 2019, ch. 59, Secs. YYY-43-d, YYY-42 eff. 4/12/2019.Amended by New York Laws 2018, ch. 59, Sec. LL-7, eff. 4/12/2018.Amended by New York Laws 2017, ch. 61, Sec. G-1, eff. 6/29/2017.Amended by New York Laws 2016, ch. 73, Sec. O-1, eff. 6/23/2016.Amended by New York Laws 2015, ch. 20, Sec. B-D-1 and Sec. B-D-2, eff. 6/26/2015.Amended by New York Laws 2013, ch. 57, Sec. A-20-a, eff. 4/1/2013. See New York Laws 2023, ch. 604, Sec. 7.This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.