Dear all —

It has come to our attention that DOE has sent out threatening letters to the candidates we endorsed for the Citywide and Community Education Council elections, telling them it is illegal for them to publicize our endorsements.

We want to make clear that none of the candidates whom we endorsed ever solicited or asked for our endorsements. Yet in any case, we urge these candidates not to publicize the fact that we’ve endorsed them, on social media or otherwise.   At the same time, we encourage all other Kids PAC members and subscribers who are not current CCEC members or running for office to contact your friends and allies to share our endorsements, and urge them to vote for these strong and committed parent leaders who will fight for the right of their children to receive a high quality education.

The DOE election guidelines simply say that candidates should not accept endorsements from political parties, party officials, or elected officials, and we are none of the above. We are simply a volunteer group of parent leaders who set up our PAC more than a decade ago, and since then have supported candidates at the local, state, and federal level who will work to strengthen and support our public schools.

We believe that the Chancellor’s regulations that prohibit CCEC candidates from soliciting or accepting endorsements, which DOE has interpreted to mean publicizing their endorsements, is likely a violation of their free speech. However, we do not intend to consider litigating this issue until after the CCEC elections are over.

We are also very concerned as to why DOE has apparently sent no such messages to any other organization that has endorsed candidates, including PLACE. Yesterday, we sent DOE officials a letter to ask why — but have not yet received a reply.

This is a serious concern because it suggests that either purposely or inadvertently, DOE officials may be biasing the election process in favor of one group’s preferred candidates over another. If so, they are in violation of their own legal responsibility, which is to maintain impartial oversight of the process and ensure no candidates are provided with an unfair advantage.

Again, if you are not a current CCEC member or candidate, please share our endorsements as widely as possible with other parents and encourage them to vote. On the other hand, If you are a current CCEC member or a candidate, please hold off doing this as it may risk your being arbitrarily thrown off the ballot by DOE.

Yours sincerely,

NYC Kids PAC