SLT Law up for Renewal

School Leadership Team Laws (2590-h and 2590r) are up for renewal June 30th 2015. I would bet the DOE will try to persuade the State Legislature to take away SLT decision making on the CEP by giving the principal final approval. They tried to do that in 2010 by revising Chancellor's Regulation A-655 and were prevented to do so by a Commissioner's Appeal (Pollicino). Now is the time to advocate that SLTs be restored the powers they had from 1998, to develop the budget, also through shared decision making.We should also lobby for consistent training by the DOE as well as a strong grievance process.Contact Cathy Nolan ( nolanc@assembly.state.ny.us) in support of SLTs. She is the Education Chairperson. The victory in the Open Meetings Law case will be meaningless if the decision making powers of SLT's are further weakened by a rewriting of the legislation. Sincerely, James Calantjis sltsupport.blogspot.com

Court Case Affirms SLTs Subject to Open Meetings Law

The decision in the case of Thomas v.DOE came out today. It affirms that SLTs are public bodies and must adhere to the NYS Open Meetings Law. The DOE had asserted that members of the public could not attend SLT meetings. The decision also made important statements about SLT responsibilities. "The role of an SLT in formulating its school's CEP is one of decision maker" (p.9). "If it is fulfilling its statutory role, a schools SLT is not a mere advisor to the principal" (p.9). " In fulfilling this role, the SLT acts in conjunction with and not subordinate to, the schools principal"(p.9). It is shameful that parents and teachers need to go to court to force the DOE to adhere to the law. Make sure parents, teachers and the principal are made aware of this important decision. The links below will access the court case. http://go.shr.lc/1I0USSY or www.scribd.com/doc/262875757/Thomas-v-DOE-Decision-and-Judgment