New York City Public Schools

The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (more commonly known as New York City Public Schools) is the largest school system in the United States (and the world), with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,800 separate schools. The department covers all five boroughs of New York City, and has an annual budget of $38 billion. The department is run by the Panel for Educational Policy and New York City Schools Chancellor. The current chancellor is David C. Banks. History In the Maclay Act in 1842, the New York State legislature established the New York City Board of Education. It gave the city an elective Board of Education empowered to build and supervise schools and distribute the education fund. It provided that none of the money should go to the schools which taught religion. The fast-growing Irish Catholic community objected, but after decades of trying they did not get government funding. By 1870 19 percent of school-age children attended Catholic schools. Since 1960s Beginning in the late 1960s, schools were grouped into districts. Elementary schools and middle schools were grouped into 32 community school districts, and high schools were grouped into five geographically larger districts. One each for Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, one for most of Brooklyn, and one, BASIS, for the rest of Brooklyn and all of Staten Island. In addition, there were several special districts for alternative schools and schools serving severely disabled students.