Opinion: Say 'No' to More Safety Agents in NYC Schools

On March 26th, NYPD school safety agents confronted a high school senior at the John Jay Educational Campus for using a safety pin to hold together his broken glasses. When the student refused to remove the pin, he was tackled to the floor by school safety agents, pinned down and handcuffed. Later, when the principal brought the student to her office and asked him to write down what had happened, the NYPD returned, handcuffing the student again and placing him under arrest. The student was then held in a room without a parent or staff member present. Before releasing him, officers issued the student a summons.

Sadly, incidents of inappropriate school discipline happen every day in New York City, a result of prioritizing the policing of our youth over creating a nurturing and supportive environment for them to grow in. Giving control to the NYPD in these situations effectively supplants the judgment of educators, who are the most appropriate individuals to manage school discipline.

The New York City Council is considering legislation, known as Intro. 65, that would require the NYPD to assign at least one school safety agent to any school, public or private, that requests one. (Currently the NYPD School Safety Division decides where officers are located.) Such a proposal gives me serious cause for concern.

As someone with 25 years teaching experience, I understand the importance of ensuring the safety of students and staff at all times. The successful strategies that I have seen emphasize the "restorative justice" approach to school discipline, which holds students accountable for their actions and proactively builds healthy relationships in school communities to address conflict and prevent wrongdoing. To cultivate such an environment, more resources need to be directed toward social workers, guidance counselors and restorative justice coordinators in public schools, not NYPD officers. Expanding the presence of school safety agents makes it more difficult to shift away from the failed paradigm of punishment and control, and toward evidence-based practices.

Police presence does not create safer schools. In fact, studies show that districts which rely heavily on policing students also disproportionately push adolescents into the school-to-prison pipeline, namely those who come from communities of color; are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning; or have a disability. 

In Mayor Bill de Blasio’s preliminary 2016 budget, the city Department of Education allocated $327 million for the NYPD School Safety Division. The DOE currently employs a combined total of 5,425 school safety agents and school police officers. If the School Safety Division were an independent department, it would be the fifth largest police force in the country!

There are over 500 non-public schools in New York City, according to the state Education Department. The passage of Intro. 65 in the City Council would force the city Department of Education to provide each of these schools with at least one school safety agent upon request, significantly increasing the city's investment in a broken system. The costs to fund the proposal could easily end up exceeding a $400 million annual investment in "school safety." In short, Intro. 65 would be both a step toward further criminalizing our young people and a waste of scarce resources. 

Creating schools where all our youth are safe to learn begins by shifting staffing priorities. Currently, there are 1,500 more school safety agents and police officers than guidance counselors and social workers in our schools. What is desperately needed is funding to hire more guidance counselors and social workers, develop LGBTQ support programs, strengthen mental health services and implement peer mediation. 

At a joint hearing of the City Council's public safety and education committees on April 14th, the head of the NYPD School Safety Division expressed deep concerns that passing Intro. 65 would potentially hinder its ability to deploy staffing resources effectively. The City Council should carefully consider this concern as well as the call for reform of the broader system.

I am opposed to Intro. 65 and hope that my colleagues will stand with me. I look forward to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to develop a plan that supports our children rather than criminalizing them.

Daniel Dromm is a member of the New York City Council representing the Queens neighborhoods of Jackson Heights and Elmhurst.