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Happy Friday! This is Alex with Chalkbeat New York.

The City Council unanimously passed a bill that would issue one-time $10,000 payments to paraprofessionals who typically work with students with disabilities. But Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who supported such a payment on the campaign trail, now argues it violates the law and is considering “the appropriate next steps.” (In yesterday’s newsletter, we mistakenly said the payments would be annual.)

Also in today’s roundup, city officials instructed principals on Thursday to move summer programming indoors as wildfire smoke enveloped the five boroughs. It’s not the first weather-related disruption to the Summer Rising program this year.

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Local News

Council approves $10k perk for public school paraprofessionals

Mayor Mamdani says the measure violates state labor law, but it passed the City Council with a veto-proof majority.

Wildfire smoke forces Summer Rising indoors as officials limit outdoor activities

New York City officials told Summer Rising programs to cancel outdoor activities and reschedule field trips as wildfire smoke reached the city, disrupting programs serving about 110,000 students.

Around Chalkbeat

Why digital tests are helping keep Chromebooks in classrooms

Educators questioning classroom devices are running into a practical barrier: State exams that are now widely taken on computers.

More than $1.6 million raised in Chicago school board election, as contribution caps are lifted in race for board president

Between last October and the end of June, Chicago school board candidates raised more than $1.6 million. That included $500,000 in loans from attorney and school board president candidate Victor Henderson to his own campaign, an amount that now lifts caps for anyone running for that citywide seat.