The city's Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) has been flexing its political muscle in the wake of controversial plans to open an AI-focused high school and relocate three Upper West Side schools. Chancellor Kamar Samuels unexpectedly removed these plans from the agenda, attributing them to needing more time to listen to families. This move shows a shift in the mayor's control of the public schools, which traditionally involves the mayor and majority of the PEP, an oversight body that authorizes school openings and closures. The New York legislature amended the mayoral control law in 2022 to allow mayors to remove appointees for breaking with their directives.