NYC Council urges Education Dept. not to cut restorative justice funds

Dozens of New York Metropolis Council Members urged faculties chancellor David Banks to protect funding for a long-running effort to maneuver faculties towards much less punitive pupil self-discipline.

Thirty-eight of the council’s 51 members penned a letter Monday expressing concern about reports that the Division of Schooling is weighing a steep reduce to “restorative justice,” an strategy that encourages educators to offer misbehaving college students an opportunity restore the hurt they induced relatively than turning to suspensions and expulsions.

“The Council is strongly against any actions by DOE to scale back its dedication of funds in direction of restorative justice programming as a result of it might be counterproductive to the security, success, and well-being of our college students,” wrote the members, together with speaker Adrienne Adams.

Council members mentioned the Schooling Division initially dedicated to spending greater than $21 million on restorative justice this 12 months, however a coalition of advocates final week claimed the company is contemplating dramatically decreasing that sum and “dismantl[ing]” this system citywide.

Banks additionally reorganized the central DOE workplace answerable for overseeing restorative justice, creating additional uncertainty in regards to the destiny of this system, advocates and politicians mentioned.

Council members accused the Schooling Division of creating “spending selections that contradict allocations outlined within the metropolis price range, occurring exterior of public accountability and transparency.”

DOE spokeswoman Suzan Sumer mentioned “Our public faculties have come a good distance from leaning on punitive insurance policies in our school rooms, and we’re not trying again.”

“We will likely be growing our funding in faculties to enhance faculty security, tradition and pupil expertise together with by means of restorative justice approaches and can share extra particulars within the coming weeks,” she added.

The letter was issued on the identical day the council held a listening to on a resolution calling on the DOE to revive $469 million in cuts to high school budgets — a few of which the council itself voted to approve in June.

However council members claimed after the June vote that the DOE misled them in regards to the measurement and impression of the cuts, and have argued that they solely has the authority to set the parameters of the price range, and may’t police precisely how the company chooses to spend the cash it’s given.