A report from the New York state education department suggested some reforms to mayoral control of New York City’s schools on Tuesday, prompting furious backlash from Mayor Eric Adams.

The nearly 300-page state education department report did not recommend transformative change to the New York City school system's oversight. But it did note that the city's top-down approach to education gives the mayor more power than any other district in the United States, and suggested possibly diluting City Hall’s influence over a panel that votes on education department contracts.

State legislators said they'll use the report to inform their vote on whether to extend mayoral control of schools, which expires at the end of June.

“This report is a thorough, research-based presentation of school governance models in New York City and elsewhere,” state education department spokesperson J.P. O’Hare said in a statement.

Adams lashed out before the report was publicly released, attacking its authors and questioning its methodology.

“So I'm concerned. Is this more political? Or is it about the way we have done it and [what] Chancellor [David] Banks has done,” Adams said during a press conference prior to the report’s public release. “When we sat down and communicated with them, it was clear that either someone did not read the law, or they determined that they were going to do it the way they wanted to do.”

He attacked CUNY School of Law’s involvement in the report and hinted that he believed the school was biased against him. He referenced an episode last year when CUNY Law graduates turned their backs on him while he delivered a commencement speech. He also said the education department made a mistake by not delving more deeply into school governance models and student achievement data.

But the report did in fact compare models of school governance.

“Research indicates that there is no conclusive relationship between school governance structures and student achievement,” the report reads. It added that there was no substantial evidence that mayoral control reduces educational inequities.

Ultimately, the report on mayoral control recommended forming a commission to further study mayoral control – a classic political tactic to delay a decision on a high-stakes issue.

Albany legislators first granted Mayor Michael Bloomberg control of the school system. That arrangement must be renewed, typically every one to four years.

The last time mayoral control was extended was in spring 2021, when the Legislature passed a law requiring the state education department to convene hearings on the subject and study its efficacy, which ultimately resulted in Tuesday’s report.

The majority of speakers at public hearings – largely teachers and parents – felt that the system ignores their insights and input. Many called for abolishing mayoral control altogether, potentially forcing the city to revert back to oversight by elected parent leaders.

“The majority of public hearing participants said they do not feel heard or included in the New York City public school system’s decision-making processes,” the state education department wrote in a release.

The debate over an extension this year has been contentious, in part due to Adams’ criticism of a new state law limiting class sizes.

Schools Chancellor David Banks has said that mayoral control may be imperfect but the old system consisting of a board of education and local school boards was inefficient and corrupt.

“You didn't have a shot at being a principal in a particular district unless the head of the community board, you were close to them or you were prepared to pay money for your position. That's not made up stuff. That was real,” he said last month.

He added that he would not be interested in governing under the old model.

“The reason I accepted this assignment as chancellor was because of this mayor and the ability to work in alignment with this mayor. I have no interest in serving as a chancellor in a system where you don't really have the authority to make real decisions. I have no interest in that whatsoever,” Banks said.

State Sen. John Liu, who chairs the Senate's NYC education committee, and state Sen. Shelly Mayer, who chairs the Senate's education committee, said the report would be “invaluable” as lawmakers review mayoral control.