Council pols seek schools’ online data

Education Department footdragging has led city lawmakers to subpoena the agency for data about how many students participated in remote learning programs last spring, the Daily News has learned.

“This is basic data — yet they’ve failed to provide this information while these students may be falling further behind. It’s unacceptable,” said City Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan).

Johnson and City Council Education Committee Chairman Mark Treyger issued the subpoena to Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza Thursday. It asks the Education Department to produce the information by Sept. 29.

Council members initially asked for the data at a May 27 hearing.

“They mentioned in their hearing they would get us the information soon after the hearing,” Treyger said. “It is Sept. 24, and we still don’t know how many kids never logged on once to any device since March. We still do not have school-byschool attendance data.”

The city Education Department released aggregate attendance data showing about 87% of students logged into their online classes from last March through June. But the city hasn’t broken down attendance records by school, or by race or other demographic characteristics.

Treyger introduced a bill requiring the Education Department to report the data in August. He said the legislative process was taking too long.

“We need this data to pinpoint problems with remote learning and solve them before they lead to greater inequities in New York City’s education system,” Johnson said.

Other cities including Los Angeles and Chicago published more detailed remote learning data last spring.

Education Department spokesman Nathaniel Styer said the city “will be publishing attendance data for both inperson and remote instruction” this fall to help schools combat chronic absenteeism.

Agency officials said they would work with the City Council to provide any available information about remote attendance in the spring.