State education officials are analyzing whether mayoral control should be scrapped altogether, as Mayor Eric Adams prepares to ask the state Legislature to extend his power over the city’s public school system.

The New York State Education Department must prepare a report weighing the merits of mayoral control, due to Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature by March 31.

They’ll host a series of hearings across the five boroughs starting Tuesday, according to state law aimed at informing the report’s findings.

“New York City’s mayoral control…has been evolving, and we hope to get that out so the public has the context of the history of over 20 years of the evolution of mayoral control in New York City,” State Education Department Commissioner Betty Rosa told NY1.

A public comment period is open until Sunday evening, ahead of the Dec. 5 hearing at Dewitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, which begins at 6 p.m.

The policy was first implemented in 2002 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, after the old, controversial system – the School Board of Education – was dissolved.

It gives the mayor power over the city’s Department of Education. The mayor can appoint the chancellor and select members of the Panel for Education Policy.

The system also permits the mayor to enact major educational policy.

But they’re at the whim of the Legislature to approve an extension or end of the policy.

It’s lapsed just twice – under Bloomberg – when the ex-mayor was at war with the powerful United Federation of Teachers union.

When Mayor Bill de Blasio came into power, he was at odds with ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo over various issues like standardized testing.

It became a major bargaining chip, forcing city mayors to travel to Albany and make their case for extensions – often in two-to-three-year clips.

That’s why the legislature passed the bill that’s now forcing the SED to study the policy.

It comes at a time when Adams’ own tenure under mayoral control is set to lapse in June 2024. He needs to lobby lawmakers for an extension, after they granted him just two years in 2021.

This year, Adams faces headwinds after announcing across-the-board budget cuts that will impact the DOE’s ability to spend on initiatives.

The DOE has also been dragging its feet on meeting requirements to cut class sizes mandated under state law, which City Hall argues will cost them more than they want to spend.