Two elected parent leaders in New York City were removed from their school council positions on Friday, a rare step by school officials that reflected the escalating fights over broader political and cultural issues in local schools.
The remarkable move by the schools chancellor, David C. Banks, appeared to be the first time that the administration has removed elected parent leaders from their posts. It came after both parents had faced months of public backlash over issues including rules regarding transgender students in sports and the Israel-Hamas war.
One of the parents, Maud Maron, was rebuked by the schools chancellor after an education news outlet, The 74, reported that she wrote “there is no such thing as trans kids” in a private text chat. And when a student newspaper ran an anonymous opinion column accusing Israel of genocide, Ms. Maron, a parent at the school, was quoted by The New York Post as saying that the “byline should read coward instead of anonymous.”
The other parent, Tajh Sutton, was accused by parents in a federal lawsuit of imposing “a far-reaching political speech code” on debate in public school-council meetings, which included restricting some members of the public and the press from joining. The parents also took issue with her promoting a student walkout to call for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Both Ms. Maron and Ms. Sutton were elected to two-year terms on local community education councils, which represent the public school system’s 32 districts. The groups mainly advise on education policy and do not have major power. But some councils have seen a substantial uptick in vitriol in recent months.
Mr. Banks’s decision to remove the two parents, which was confirmed by a City Education Department official, came after the department sent letters to them in April, warning that they would face suspension or removal if their conduct did not change.
The chancellor said in a statement on Friday afternoon that “it is a sad day when New York City Public Schools is compelled to take the actions I have ordered today.”
“But,” he continued, “the violations committed by these two individuals have made them unfit to serve in these roles.”
The discipline process for investigating misconduct complaints against parent leaders was created during the coronavirus pandemic as tensions flared over school closures and Covid safety protocols.
Ms. Maron said in an email that she had predicted three years ago that the rules for parent leaders “would be used to silence dissenting voices.”
“I was right,” Ms. Maron said. “Objecting to antisemitism at my daughter’s high school does not ‘intimidate’ anyone. It just offends those who wish to have free reign to intimidate and harass Jewish students.”
Ms. Sutton said in an interview that she was “disgusted” but not surprised by the ruling. She said that she had always sought to stand up for human rights, and that the Education Department and Mayor Eric Adams’s administration had failed to do the same.
“They’re setting a dangerous precedent for how parents are able to show up and advocate for their communities,” said Ms. Sutton, adding that she was the only Black member of her parent council and a lifelong resident of her district. “It shouldn’t be a removable offense to say that Palestinians deserve to live.”
It was not immediately clear how other families would react to the decisions.
Ms. Maron is a well-known figure in Manhattan’s District 2, which includes the West Village, Hell’s Kitchen and the Upper East Side, and has allies on an influential parent group she co-founded that advocates for merit-based admissions. She has led a push for the Education Department to review its rules allowing transgender students to play on sports teams that align with their gender identity.
Some families argued that Ms. Maron helped foster an atmosphere of intolerance and disrespect on her parent council.
Ms. Sutton has support from many families in Brooklyn’s District 14, which covers Williamsburg and Greenpoint. They have argued that she was unfairly targeted in part for her pro-Palestinian views. They also criticized officials for doing too little to safeguard her parent council against harassment and threats.
But some families raised concerns about how the council had handled dissenting views. Parent meetings should be open to the public and held in person, according to a state law.
In a federal lawsuit, three parents — including Ms. Maron — said they had been kicked out of meetings led by Ms. Sutton, “apparently owing to their political views,” or blocked from the council’s official social media pages.
Elected parents in the district have argued that they needed to take action to protect themselves from vitriol after education officials failed to do so.
After investigations into grievances against Ms. Maron and Ms. Sutton, both were warned in April to correct their behavior.
In a letter, the Education Department instructed Ms. Maron to “cease engaging in conduct involving derogatory or offensive comments about” students, as well as any harassing or intimidating behavior. A separate letter to Ms. Sutton said the parent council appeared to be “selectively representing” families and instructed her to stop improper conduct.
