About CCELL

• 2009 – New York State Law established CCELL.
• July 2010 – The first CCELL council was seated.
• October 2010 – Teresa Arboleda was appointed as the first Public Advocate (PA) representative, later joined by Vanessa Leung. Ms. Leung later served as Mayor de Blasio’s appointee to the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP).
• 2011 – Initially, only parents of students currently enrolled in bilingual programs were eligible to serve on CCELL. This resulted in a lack of quorum due to limited participation. CCELL, supported by other councils and the Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council (CPAC), successfully advocated for legislative changes.

Law Amendments:

• 2011 – Eligibility expanded to include parents of students who had received bilingual services within the past two years.
• 2019 – Further amendments allowed parents of students who had ever been enrolled in a bilingual program to serve on Community Education Council (CEC) ELL seats.
• Current Status – Despite these changes, CCELL eligibility remains restricted. Advocacy continues to further amend the law, enabling all parents of former ELL students to serve on CCELL as well as CECs. (See attached CCELL Resolution.)