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Victory one for Learn NY was marked this week, when Dept. of Education Chancellor Joel Klein announced “the missing ‘Parent Link,” which will allow parents to monitor their child’s school progress.

Various advocacy groups like Learn NY and lawmakers have been clamoring the past few weeks to introduce plans and legislation that would revise the law granting the mayor executive control of the public schools. The law, known as “mayoral control,” will expire on June 30 unless renewed.

Parent Link is a brand new function of the DOE’s online Achievement Reporting and Innovation System. ARIS was created to help educators find and monitor information about their students. Parents can now contact schools to receive a password, and log on to www.arisnyc.org/parentlink for access to the database, which will provide detailed and updated attendance numbers, course grades, and scores on state tests and in-class assessments.

The announcement, made by Klein and Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria), comes on the heels of Learn NY’s demands that children’s school progress be made easily and readily available during the semester. Learn NY is an advocacy group which was formed specifically to support the mayor’s continued leadership, but with tweaks. It is comprised of a coalition of ethnic and religious groups like the Asian American Federation, and supported by Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing). Learn NY supports mayoral control with suggested improvements like the new ARIS system, greater financial transparency, increased parental input and independent analysis of performance data.

Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced a plan last week to maintain the mayor’s executive discretion over the 13-member Panel for Educational Policy, allowing him to continue appointing eight members, but mandating that two of his picks be parents of public school children. As of now the PEP is comprised of one appointee made by each borough president, and eight of the mayor’s – who he has the right to replace at will. It is not clear if Silver’s new plan, which was presented with Assembly Education Committee Chairwoman Cathy Nolan (D-Ridgewood), outlines set terms for the mayor’s appointees.

Several days later the advocacy group Campaign for Better Schools held a rally on the steps of City Hall for further parental involvement, proposing robust reforms on parent participation, including creating an independent outreach and training initiative for parents to be housed at the Public Advocate’s office; restoring the District Superintendent’s powers to oversee schools and help address parental concerns locally; and strengthening the role of local Community Education Councils in decisions affecting school closings, re-structuring and insertions of schools inside existing schools.

In addition to ARIS, Klein would like to conjoin the Community Educational Council, which is made up of parents, with the local community boards. The move would expand the input of the CEC – but still in a strictly advisory capacity.

With the support of Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows), the New York Civil Liberties Union publicized suggestions of further checks on mayoral control. Silver made modest concessions to advocacy groups and Democrats like Lancman. His plan would reportedly empower the City Comptroller and the Independent Budget Office to scrutinize Department of Education finances and school-performance. The authority of the district superintendent would also be expanded.

Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith is also pushing a proposal that would largely maintain the mayor’s authority. Deputy Senate Majority Leader Jeff Klein (D-Bronx) is pushing a proposal that would keep the PEP the same.