City Schools Chancellor David Banks this week harshly reprimanded the Brooklyn Parent Council, which promoted a citywide student strike in protest of the Israel-Hamas war, for “failing to effectively manage its business.” Ta.
The banks accused Taj Sutton, president of Regional Education Council 14, of violating multiple state laws, including one that could result in a permanent ban from serving on citywide boards.
“The Board of Trustees under your leadership and direction appears to be only selectively representative of the district’s parent community, blocking attendance and participation in meetings for dubious reasons, and failing to respond to parent concerns. “They do not appear to be taking action,” Banks wrote in a three-page letter. Sutton.
CEC 14 has been accused of blocking Jewish parents at meetings and on social media.
DOE records show Sutton organized in support of James Parra, a paraprofessional at Brooklyn Arbor Elementary School, in response to backlash over his vocal advocacy for Palestine. Parra defended Israel in social media posts, calling it a “racist” and “terrorist” state and using the term “Zionist pig.”
The bank said Mr Suttons’ actions were “highly inappropriate” and “irrelevant” to the CEC’s obligations.
At Thursday’s CEC 14 meeting (which remained virtual despite an order to comply with state law requiring in-person meetings), Parra went on a rant, calling District 14 Superintendent David Cintron a “low-backed coward.” called “person.”
“And you know what? Damn it. Free Palestine forever and forever,” Parra added. “From the river to the sea. Damn it.”
Sutton immediately responded: “We love you, James. You’re the best in this district.”
On Wednesday, Sutton also received a notice of guilt for promoting a pro-Palestinian student strike in November, in violation of Prime Minister’s Regulation D-210, which prohibits harassment and discrimination.
DOE Spokesman Nathaniel Steyer said Sutton will ask equity compliance officers three times if they wish to participate in “mediation,” where respondents can be heard before final action is taken. It is necessary to notify within days.
“When we receive D-210 complaints against parent leaders, we take those complaints seriously,” Steyer said.
The prime minister has the power to suspend or dismiss members of parliament.
D-210’s negative ruling this week went to Maude Maron, a member of the District 2 Regional Education Council, which stretches from Lower Manhattan to the Upper East Side.
The DOE ordered her to “cease conduct that includes derogatory or offensive comments toward New York City public school students.”
Officials told Maron that the violation stemmed from comments he made in the Post about an anonymous editorial in Stuyvesant High School’s student newspaper, The Spectator, that was widely criticized as anti-Semitic. .
“The byline should say ‘coward’ instead of ‘anonymous,'” she said of the February article, adding that the editorial showed “ignorance and hatred of Jews.”
The Spectator’s editors later issued a correction to the editorial.
Maron is the subject of separate pending charges for making derogatory comments about the LGBTQ community in a private chat group.
“There is no such thing as transgender children… There is no such thing as transitioning, changing gender,” she said. is quoted as saying On the education news site “The 74”. The comments sparked outrage.
“I stand by my comments,” Maron said Friday. “You should be able to speak in private chats and in public without repercussions from the DOE.”
The move comes on the eve of Banks testifying at a Congressional hearing on anti-Semitism in schools and universities next month.
