The Student Safety Coalition works to end the New York City School to Prison Pipeline and its disproportionate impact on youth of color and youth with special needs. Made up of New York City advocacy, academic and community based organizations, the coalition uses a coordinated set of legislative, public education and organizing strategies. To create respectful school environments and ensure the right to education for all students, the coalition promotes positive rather than punitive school safety and discipline measures and the participation of students in school decision-making processes. The coalition has as its main short-term goal the passage of the Student Safety Act by the New York City Council.
Read the New York City Bar Association's Report on the Student Safety Act
The Student Safety Act would require quarterly reporting by the Department of Education and NYPD to the City Council on school safety issues, including incidents involving the arrest, expulsion or suspension of students. It would provide the public with raw data to study the impact of disciplinary and security practices, and encourage the crafting of more effective procedures. The following organizations are members of the Student Safety Coalition:
  • Advocates for Children of New York
  • Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, UAW 2325
  • Bronx Defenders
  • Children's Defense Fund – New York
  • Class Size Matters
  • Correctional Association of New York
  • CUNY Graduate Center Participatory Action Research Collective
  • DRUM - Desis Rising Up and Moving
  • Make the Road New York
  • NAACP-Legal Defense and Educational Fund
  • NAACP New York State Conference
  • National Economic and Social Rights Initiative
  • National Lawyers Guild – New York City Chapter
  • New York Civil Liberties Union
  • New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
  • Parent Action Committee
  • Suspension Representation Project
  • Teachers Unite
  • Urban Youth Collaborative
  • Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice
The following organizations have endorsed or passed a resolution in favor of the Student Safety Act:
  • Advancement Project
  • Citywide Council on High Schools (CCHS)
  • Coalition for Educational Justice
  • Community Asset Development Redefining Education (CADRE)
  • Community Education Council 30 (CEC 30)
  • The Justice Policy Institute
  • The National Center for Schools and Communities at Fordham University
  • National Youth Rights Association (NYRA)
  • The New York City Bar Association Committee on Civil Rights
  • The New York Law School Racial Justice Project
  • Southern Poverty Law Center
  • Working Families Party