DEFUND THE NYPD and FUND PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

Thursday, June 11, 2020. New York City – Parents, students and teachers in New York City want NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC Council to defund the NYPD and fund public schools.

Today I wanted to cover the rally at the elementary school PS 197. Bernie Sanders attended elementary school PS 197 . I asked organizers of the rallies if there was a rally at PS 197, but they never responded. It was also raining today. I don’t know if there was a rally at PS 197.

There were rallies at many public schools in the five boroughs, led by the Coalition for Educational Justice. The Coalition for Educational Justice is a parent led organization that has been fighting for educational equity for years.

Organizers said on Instagram, “The City budget is in its final weeks, and NYC schools are facing a $1-2 billion cut while the NYPD is facing hardly any cuts at all. Mayor de Blasio and several Councilmembers have bowed to public pressure and said they will reduce the NYPD budget, but have given no specifics on how much and where that money will go. That’s why we need to continue to add pressure this week to demand FULL funding for ALL public schools.”

MISSION

Led by parents, the NYC Coalition for Educational Justice is organizing a movement to end the inequities in the city’s public school system. We are a collaborative of community-based organizations and unions whose members include culturally diverse parents, community members, students and educators. We are motivated by the urgent need to obtain a quality and well-rounded education for all students. We will mobilize the power of parents and the community to affect policy change and create a more equitable educational system.

There will be more protests on Friday, June 12, 2020.
Click the link for info: https://www.instagram.com/justiceforgeorgenyc/

RELATED TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND THE NYPD.

“In the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many countless other Black people killed by the police, NYC teachers, parents, and students are joining the national movement to defund and dismantle police forces in our schools. A movement begun and organized by young people for years in NYC is now more possible.

NYC serves 1.1 million students in some of the most segregated and unequal schools in the country. 66% of those students are Black and Latinx. The NYC Department of Education currently employs about 5,000 NYPD School Police, but only 2,958 guidance counselors and 1,335 social workers. Since the beginning of the protests, Minneapolis and Portland have committed to removing police from their public schools.

NYC DOE must take action to prioritize education over criminalization by removing money spent on school policing (both within school budgets and more broadly within the city budget) and instead spend it on restorative justice, mental health support, and trauma-informed responses to conflict in schools.

3 actions for #PoliceFreeSchools

1. Demand #PoliceFreeSchools from the Mayor & City Council

Call your City Council Member: council.nyc.gov/districts

Write the Mayor: www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/mayor-contact.page

Script: The NYPD has made it clear that they are not committed to the safety and security of Black community members and have no place in our schools. I echo the demands of youth-led groups calling for police free schools. The DOE must end its contract with the NYPD and divert those funds to restorative justice, mental health support, and trauma-informed responses to conflict. In recent days, both Minneapolis and Portland have shown us that this is possible. I look forward to seeing your action on this.

2. Tweet @DOEChancellor Carranza that we need #PoliceFreeSchools

Sample tweet: Hey @DOEChancellor & @NYCmayor! Portland & Minneapolis now have #PoliceFreeSchools, and Portland will use funding for social workers and social-emotional supports. What do we need to do to make this a reality in NYC? #BlackLivesMatter at school

You can contact DOE superintendents too, find a list of DOE leadership atwww.schools.nyc.gov/about-us/leadership/district-leadership and call them or use the listed contact info to look up their twitter handles.

3. Sign this petition to Get NYPD Defunded & Out Of NYC Schools

change.org/p/mayor-bill-de-blasio-get-nypd-defunded-out-of-public-schools

If you are a teacher/student: Sign the national call to action for schools, colleges, and universities to immediately divest from police written by the Scholars for Black Lives collective at

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