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The recent outcry over the arrests of several New York City teachers accused of sexual misconduct has left many parents wondering how teachers are disciplined and whether too many were allowed to keep their jobs even after complaints are lodged.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the city is moving ahead with plans to close and reopen 33 struggling schools even though it means replacing about half their teachers or, according to some, he's proceeding because it means replacing half the teaching staff.

City students who get suspended for infractions this coming year will now have a new alternative school — in the headquarters of the teacher's union.

The teachers union claims that a state court "significantly narrowed" the rights of city teachers and all state employees this month when it found teachers' ratings could be released to the public, according to a request for an appeal filed Tuesday.

An Albany judge has sided with the state teachers union, by ruling that the state put too much emphasis on student test scores in its new teacher evaluation system scheduled to go into effect this fall.

The union representing New York City principals is angry the city is planning to turn 14 low-performing schools over to six outside organizations.

The city and state teachers unions are urging the state to reject a $27 million contract with an educational technology company owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

A state judge has given the city the green light to close 22 failing schools, and let 15 charter schools share space with regular schools when he declined to grant an injunction requested by the teachers union and the NAACP.

A $500,000 construction project has started so a new charter school can open inside an Upper West Side high school building — but the work could come to a halt if the teachers union and the NAACP win a lawsuit.

A state judge Thursday declined to continue a restraining order that prevented a charter school from starting construction inside an Upper West Side high school. But the charter still hasn't exactly gotten a green light.

The city, the teachers union and the NAACP will square off in court Tuesday over plans to let 19 charter schools take space in the same buildings as regular schools. And, like most things in New York City, the feud is largely about real estate.

Seven out of 14 failing high schools the city wants to close posted higher on-time graduation rates last year — and advocates who have sued to keep the schools open says that's a good sign.

Ahead of a court date Tuesday, the city has been revising plans for charter schools it plans to move or expand inside buildings with regular schools.

Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said as many as 70,000 students could be in limbo about what schools they'll attend this fall because of a lawsuit filed by the NAACP and the teachers union.

In the nearly two months since former deputy mayor Dennis Walcott took over as Schools Chancellor, the city's highest-ranking African American has relied on his political prowess and knowledge of the schools system to redefine the role and set a new tone.

The teachers union went back to court Tuesday over whether the media can obtain the ratings of thousands of elementary and middle school teachers. The union claims these Teacher Data Reports should not be shared with the public, and that releasing them with the names of teachers would violate privacy rights.

The Department of Education said it "wasn't appropriate" for a central office staffer to send a political email to parents encouraging them to sign a petition against the last in, first out (LIFO) law protecting senior teachers in the event of layoffs.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he supports Governor Andrew Cuomo's plan to expedite a new teacher evaluation system but it won't factor into layoffs since it wouldn't take effect before September. "It simply kicks the can down the road," Bloomberg said.