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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Hadia A., Student, on Restorative Justice Funding in NYC Schools
7:32:42
ยท
175 sec
Hadia A., a junior high school student from District 45, testifies on behalf of the Yaya Network and DSC to advocate for increased funding for restorative justice (RJ) programs in NYC schools. She argues that RJ is crucial for addressing the culture of disconnect, distrust, and neglect in schools, and for changing how conflicts are handled.
- Hadia shares personal experiences of punitive measures in her school, including disproportionate suspensions of Black students and those with IEPs.
- She outlines specific funding demands: $12 million in baseline funding, $16 million to transform deans into RJ coordinators, $75 million for community-based initiatives, and $80 million for 500 schools to hire RJ coordinators.
- Hadia emphasizes that RJ is about shifting school culture to prioritize understanding, repair, and growth over punishment, and supporting students rather than criminalizing them.
Hadia A.
7:32:42
Good afternoon chairwoman and members of the committee.
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My name is Hadia Ali and from PS 217 to Midwood High School my whole life, I've spent my whole life living and going to school in District 45.
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I'm a junior in one of the many overcrowded high schools in this city and I'm here today with the Yaya Network and DSC to stress why funding for restorative justice is not just necessary but long overdue.
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When I first learned about restorative justice, it was introduced to me as a way of addressing conflict.
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And at first I didn't completely understand the scope of it.
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But the more I learned, the more I couldn't unsee the ways that my school and many others consistently failed students.
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Because the conflict that RJ aims to repair goes far beyond fights or school disruptions.
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It addresses the culture of disconnect, distrust and neglect that exists in our schools.
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The very culture that students are forced to navigate every single day.
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I've experienced this failure firsthand through how my school administration handles conflict.
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Whether it's by calling the cops on students demonstrating a walkout or by handing out unwarranted suspensions during regents week or by the way that it disproportionately suspends black students and students with IEPs.
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Every single time conflict arises, no matter how minor, students brace themselves for punishment.
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In nearly every single circumstance, students are met with hostility and deprived of their right to advocate for themselves.
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And that's because conflict regardless of the context is always treated as something to be shut down, not something to be understood, addressed or resolved.
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And that dynamic, that culture of fear fundamentally damages any real sense of community that exists within our schools.
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It's the reason that school it's the reason that students feel disconnected and unheard and the reason that teachers feel unsupported because when schools prioritize punishment over resolution, it prevents growth and understanding from everyone involved.
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But it doesn't have to be like that.
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RJ is the exact intervention that could break that cycle but only if it's properly and effectively funded.
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And that means $12,000,000 in baseline funding, $16,000,000 to transform deans into RJ coordinators, Seventy five million dollars to fund community based initiatives and $80,000,000 directly to 500 schools to hire RJ coordinators.
7:34:52
This is about more than just reducing suspensions.
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It's about shifting the very culture of our school so that conflict does not immediately lead to punishment but instead to understanding repair and growth.
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It's about ensuring that when students make mistakes, they're not criminalized but supported.
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And it's about making sure that teachers aren't left to rely on punitive systems simply because they have no resources to do otherwise.
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And most importantly, it's about recognizing that students in communities like mine don't struggle because they're inherently disruptive.
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They struggle because they've been systematically denied the resources, care and investment that they are entitled to.
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You have the power to change that.
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So I'm asking you today, meet these demands, fully fund restorative justice in our schools and prove to students like me that we are worth investing in.
7:35:36
Thank you.