Education Not Suspension: Call to Action!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 2012
Contact: Liz Sullivan, National Economic and Social Rights Initiatives, (646) 713-5288, liz@nesri.org
Shoshi Chowdhury, Dignity in Schools Campaign-NY, (347) 832-8391, shoshi@nesri.org

Suspension Crisis in NYC Schools; Students, Parents, Teachers Take Action

High suspension rates will continue unless Bloomberg and Walcott require positive alternatives to suspension in all schools

New York, NY - On June 5th at 5:30 p.m. the Dignity in Schools Campaign-New York (DSC-NY) will hold a press conference and rally outside of Stuyvesant High School with students, parents, teachers and lawmakers to challenge the latest draft of the NYC Discipline Code as not going far enough to address the disproportionate suspension of students of color. At 6:00 p.m., community members and lawmakers will testify at the NYC Department of Education (DOE) Hearing on the new draft Discipline Code.

DSC-NY is calling for systemic changes to significantly limit the number of infractions that result in suspension and to require the use of positive guidance interventions, like restorative approaches, in all schools. DSC-NY is calling for an overall 50% reduction in suspensions by September 2013.

Visit http://stopstudentsuspensions.blogspot.com to read a new suspension story posted by DSC-NY each day between May 22 and the June 5 hearing. Every day that we wait for the appropriate changes to the Discipline Code, 260 students are suspended.

What: Press Conference at Department of Education Hearing.

Where: Stuyvesant High School, 345 Chambers St, Manhattan

When: Tuesday, June 5th, 5:30 p.m.

Who:  Robert Jackson, City Council Member, Chair of Education Committee; Daniel Dromm, City Council Member, District 25; student, parent and teacher speakers

* Photo-op, protesters will be wearing t-shirts and holding colorful signs designed by high school students. Speakers will be available for interviews.*

The Dignity in Schools Campaign-New York is a coalition of students, parents, educators, civil rights, students’ rights and community organizations, including: Advocates for Children of New York, Brooklyn Movement Center, Center for Community Alternatives, Children’s Defense Fund-New York, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, Coalition for Gender Equity in Schools, Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), Future of Tomorrow, Make the Road New York, Mass Transit Street Theater, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI), New Settlement Apartments Parent Action Committee, Pumphouse Projects, Sistas and Brothas United, Teachers Unite, The Sikh Coalition, Urban Youth Collaborative (UYC), Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, Youth on the Move, and Youth Represent
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