Hanif, Avilés advocate for moving police out of NYC schools, redirecting funding

Dozens of students could be heard chanting calls for divestment away from police in New York City’s public schools on the steps of Tweed Courthouse this afternoon. 

At a rally coordinated by the Urban Youth Collaborative and members of the City Council, students, parents, teachers and council members spoke out against police presence in schools and called for $100 million of school police funding to instead be spent on counselors, mental health and restorative justice programs, student success centers and other resources for the city’s public schools. 

City Council Progressive Caucus Members Alexa Avilés and Shahana Hanif support the push for police-free schools and spoke at the rally. “Listen to the young people. They are brilliant. They are competent. They are clear. We need police-free schools,” said Avilés. “The safest schools are those with the most resources. If you provide adequate support for all these young people to be their best selves, they will be their best selves.” 

Ava Harris, a high school senior, lamented the funding for metal detectors and bulletproof vests for police at her school which she said is in need of classroom repairs and employs just a single college counselor. 

Esperanza Vasquez, a mother of two children who attended public school in the Bronx, described the way school staff was at a loss on how to help her son deal with his depression. 

There are about 4,000 school safety agents in the New York City schools system. The agents work for the New York City Police Department, but they do not carry guns. A recent change to their uniform to add bulletproof vests alarmed some parents, Chalkbeat reported.

Police presence is “unnecessary, especially with all the armor they have on,” said Esther Nuñez, a freshman at Michael J. Petrides High School in Staten Island. “In our school there hasn’t been a report of a kid coming in with a knife or a gun.” 

In a statement a spokesperson for New York City schools touted a recent $6 million investment in restorative justice programming. “The emotional wellbeing of our school communities is of the utmost importance at NYC Public Schools. This administration continues to invest in both preventative and intervention programs with a priority for restorative justice work,” a spokesperson said.