CCELL was established by NY State Law in 2009 and the first council was seated in July 2010.

 

• In October 2010 Teresa Arboleda began to serve as a Public Advocate (PA) appointee and was later joined by Vanessa Leung as the second PA appointee. Ms. Leung left to serve as Mayor de Blasio’s appointee to the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP).

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• The NY State Law stated that only parents of students currently enrolled in a bilingual program were eligible to serve on the CCELL. Citywide and District Education Council (CCEC) elections in 2011 resulted in only three CCELL members able to be seated – the two PA appointees and one elected parent, leaving the council without a quorum and unable to finalize decisions. 

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• Some of the other councils as well as the Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council (CPAC) supported the CCELL in its advocacy of a change in the law by the NY State Legislature. The law was amended to allow parents of students who received bilingual services within the past two years to serve on the CCELL. District councils also had difficulty in filling the ELL seats, leaving the majority of councils without an ELL representative.

 

• The law was later amended to also allow parents of ELL students who received bilingual services within the past two years to serve on the ELL seat of the CECs.

 

• The law was amended in 2019 allowing parents of ELL students who have ever been enrolled in a bilingual program to be eligible to serve on the CEC ELL seat.

 

• However, the eligibility for the CCELL remains the same. Efforts should continue to amend the law to provide for parents of ELL students who have ever been enrolled in a bilingual program to be eligible to serve on the CCELL as well as the CECs (see attached CCELL Resolution).

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