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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Sebastian, Youth Leader from Urban Youth Collective and Make the Road New York
9:02:10
ยท
3 min
Sebastian, a senior in a Brooklyn community high school and youth leader, testifies against school policing and advocates for increased funding in education resources. He highlights the negative impact of police presence in schools and calls for investments in programs that support students' growth and learning.
- Criticizes the city's allocation of funds to vacant school police positions while cutting essential educational programs
- Shares personal experiences of being treated as a suspect by school police, impacting his education
- Advocates for a hiring freeze on school police and reallocation of funds to restorative justice, mental health services, and other supportive practices
Sebastian
9:02:10
Hello.
9:02:11
My name is Sebastian.
9:02:12
I'm a senior in a community high school in Brooklyn.
9:02:16
My name is Pronouns, and I'm a proud I'm a proud youth leader with Maker O'Neill New York and Urban Youth Collaborative.
9:02:22
Our schools should be places of learning, growth, and opportunity, not fear and punishment.
9:02:28
Our schools should be mayor Adams continues to fund hundreds and hundreds of vacant school compositions while the programs that support we care about are facing cuts.
9:02:37
The lengths our city is willing to go to criminalize as black and brown youth never fails to amaze us.
9:02:43
This week, the youth's education department cut nearly 50% of its workforce.
9:02:47
This is a straight up attack on all youth, all all young people, and their right to education.
9:02:52
These cuts will eliminate protections in place for black, brown, immigrant, and trans youth like us.
9:02:58
More than ever, we need our city to pass a budget that has our back and make sure we have what we need That listens to us when we say school cops will make us safe.
9:03:07
Millions of dollars are wasted on school policing, money that could be better spent on the resources we need, like funding for tutoring programs that could give every student a real opportunity to succeed.
9:03:16
We need teachers and support staff who else that gives every student a real who can help us sorry.
9:03:26
We need teachers and support staff who can help us more.
9:03:28
Our schools also need up to date technology and textbooks, and we cannot learn from outdated and falling apart materials, of course.
9:03:37
Services and programs that we count on such as community schools, restorative justice, mental health continuum, and student success student success centers are at risk of being cut from the budget this year.
9:03:47
That is not okay.
9:03:48
We need New York City to do better and step up.
9:03:51
School policing has never made my school feel safer.
9:03:55
Instead, I created an environment where students feel watched, controlled, and criminalized.
9:03:59
For undocumented students, even worse.
9:04:01
Knowing that school police can collaborate with ICE means that one wrong move could put their entire families at risk, even for those of us who are citizens.
9:04:10
Police in schools means being treated as suspects instead of students.
9:04:15
I know it's because it's happened to me before.
9:04:17
I've been stopped, searched, and delayed from getting to class by school police.
9:04:20
I've been held back from AP courses not because I wasn't capable but because unnecessary policing wasted my time.
9:04:27
How are we supposed to focus on our education when we're treated like criminals?
9:04:31
How can we grow when we're met with suspicion and self support?
9:04:35
We don't need police in our schools.
9:04:36
We need a secure hiring freeze on school cops, cut funding from the hundreds of vacant school cop positions, and then use that funding from both these investments to protect and expand to achieve actual investments in our education and our future.
9:04:50
Investments such as restorative justice, mental health, and other staff and practices that help students learn and These are the resources that uplift students instead of criminalizing them.
9:05:00
We need proper clubs and training to help advance students in aspects besides education and prepare them for the real world.
9:05:06
We we deserve an environment where we feel safe, encouraged, and empowered to succeed.
9:05:11
I would need you and city hall to help us get there.
9:05:14
Thank you.