ALBANY — Opponents of Cathleen P. Black’s appointment as New York City schools chancellor tried to convince a judge on Thursday that the state education commissioner misinterpreted the law when he approved her selection.
At a hearing in State Supreme Court here, their lawyers argued that state law did not permit Ms. Black, who has 40 years of experience in publishing, to assume the chancellor’s job, because she had no teaching experience and no degree beyond a bachelor’s.
But lawyers for the city and the state said that the education commissioner, David M. Steiner, had the discretion to waive the traditional requirements for the job.
Justice Gerald W. Connolly gave no indication of when he would rule on the suits. Ms. Black is due to start work on Jan. 3.
Ms. Black, who was appointed last month by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to succeed Joel I. Klein, does not have the master’s degree, graduate courses and teaching experience that state law requires chancellors to have.
State regulations allow the education commissioner to waive the law for someone who does not “meet all of the graduate course or teaching requirements” but whose “exceptional training and experience are the substantial equivalent.”
Dr. Steiner granted the waiver, citing Ms. Black’s publishing career and the city’s agreement to create a position for a senior deputy chancellor with a strong education background.
Eric J. Snyder, a lawyer from Park Slope, Brooklyn, with two children in public schools who sued to invalidate the waiver, argued that while the rules allowed Dr. Steiner to waive the requirement for graduate course work, they did not allow him to waive those for a master’s degree.
City and state lawyers argued that the language allowing Dr. Steiner to waive the graduate course requirement meant he could waive the master’s degree requirement as well, and that he had the latitude to interpret education regulations as he saw fit.
Lawyers representing other opponents of Ms. Black’s appointment who sued argued Dr. Steiner had gone beyond the law by considering the new senior deputy chancellor position when he granted Ms. Black’s waiver.
“It would be similar to someone without a license driving a car, getting stopped by the police and saying, ‘It’s O.K. My passenger has a license,’ ” said Roger S. Wareham, a lawyer for two parents who sued.
But Kelly L. Munkwitz, an assistant state attorney general, said that it was Dr. Steiner’s right to decide whether Ms. Black’s qualifications were the substantial equivalent of graduate courses and teaching experience. She said he also had the right to consider the city’s special needs.
“This is not a perfect fit; there are weaknesses,” Ms. Munkwitz said. “However, no one has disputed that she has knowledge of large, complex systems” like the New York City school system.
