History

In December 2010, the New York City Council passed the Student Safety Act. The act is described in a press release by the Council President as follows:

The Student Safety Act will require the Department of Education and the NYPD to submit reports to the New York City Council detailing school safety matters and student disciplinary measures. The reports will provide information about school-based disciplinary actions including detailed information regarding suspensions, and about policing in schools including information on the number of arrests and summonses issued by school safety agents or police officers who are members of the school safety division. To provide further transparency, information in the report will be broken down by categories of race/ethnicity, gender, grade level, age and whether the student has special education or English Language Learner status. Accurate and detailed reporting about policing in schools will be a valuable tool that will be used to monitor activity in schools, as well as to identify and address any problems that may occur.

by Seth Tobocman

The Student Safety Coalition comprised of groups like the New York Civil Liberties Union, the local NAACP, and Make the Road New York worked for several years to pass this act.

You can click here to learn more about the NYC Student Safety Act.

In 2012, we believe that it is time for Chicago to have our version of the Student Safety Act enacted by the City Council.