NYCLU to Teach Youth about their Rights with Police in Schools During ‘Week of Action’

Each day next week, the New York Civil Liberties Union and its partners in the Student Safety Coalition will visit public high schools throughout New York City to inform students of their rights when confronted by NYPD personnel at school. The Week of Action, an annual event, targets schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx that have permanent metal detectors, high suspension rates and a heavy police presence. Each day next week, the New York Civil Liberties Union and its partners in the Student Safety Coalition will visit public high schools throughout New York City to inform students of their rights when confronted by NYPD personnel at school.

The Week of Action, an annual event, targets schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx that have permanent metal detectors, high suspension rates and a heavy police presence. Teams of volunteers will visit selected schools before classes start and at the end of the school day to distribute Know Your Rights with Police in Schools palm cards, which explain the rights of city students when interacting with school safety agents and police officers in schools. In the past two years, volunteers have distributed more than 15,000 cards to students.

Since 1998, when the NYPD took over responsibility for school security, the number of police personnel in the schools soared by 62 percent, from 3,200 to 5,200. Police often intervene in minor disciplinary violations, handcuffing and arresting students for infractions such as talking back, writing on the desk, refusing to show identification, and refusing to turn over cell phones.

The Student Safety Coalition is composed of the following organizations: Advocates for Children of New York, Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, UAW 2325, Children’s Defense Fund – New York, Class Size Matters, Correctional Association of New York, CUNY Graduate Center Participatory Action Research Collective, Make the Road New York, NAACP-Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative, National Lawyers Guild – New York City Chapter, NYCLU, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Suspension Representation Project, Teachers Unite, and Urban Youth Collaborative.

What:
Week of Action to inform city students of their rights with police at school

When:
Monday, Sept. 14 through Friday, Sept. 18

Where:

• Brooklyn: Monday, 7-9 a.m., Clara Barton High School, 901 Classon Ave.
  Friday, 7-9 a.m., Sheepshead Bay High School, 3000 Avenue X
• Bronx: Monday, 2-4 p.m., Adlai E. Stevenson High School, 1980 Lafayette Ave.
  Tuesday, 7-9 a.m., Dewitt Clinton High School, 100 W. Mosholu Pkwy.
• Manhattan: Thursday, 2-4 p.m., Louis D. Brandies High School, 145 W. 84th St.
  Thursday, 7-9 a.m., Washington Irving High School, 40 Irving Place
• Queens:Thursday, 7-9 a.m., Martin Van Buren High School, 230-17 Hillside Ave.