New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks to step down amid federal investigations

New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks, head of the largest school system in the U.S., submitted his resignation effective at the end of the calendar year on Tuesday.

Banks’s decision to step down comes after federal agents seized his phone and other devices earlier this month, The Associated Press reported. A number of other New York City officials have been subject to seizures or searches in recent weeks amid multiple federal criminal investigations surrounding Mayor Eric Adams (D) and his administration.

“I want to thank Mayor Adams for giving me the opportunity to serve as chancellor and I am immensely proud of the progress we’ve made together — ensuring every child can read, expanding special education and gifted & talented programs, and creating innovative pathways for our students to secure rewarding careers and long-term success,” Banks shared in a statement, according to the National Review.

Before becoming chancellor of the New York City public school system, Banks founded Eagle Academy, a group of public schools geared toward educating male students of color, in 2004 and later ran a foundation that helps fundraise and provide support for the schools.

Banks is the latest member of Adams’s administration to depart or announce plans to, following Police Commissioner Edward Caban, legal adviser Lisa Zornberg and Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan.

Banks’s brother Philip serves as the city’s deputy mayor, and their other brother Terrence runs a consulting firm locally. All three of them, in addition to David Banks’s partner Sheena Wright, who works as the first deputy mayor, had their phones seized by law enforcement. 

Federal investigators have declined to comment on the ongoing investigation connected to the seizures.