On December 20, 2011, the New York City Council passed the Student Safety Act – a bill that will require the NYC Department of Education and Police Department to regularly report data related to school discipline – including data on school suspensions and arrests of students broken down by the type of incident, the length of punishment and the race, disability and age of the students.  The bill is one of the most comprehensive in the country relating to school discipline and is an essential first step towards guaranteeing the human rights principles of transparency, participation and dignity in New York City schools. 

NESRI is a member of the Student Safety Coalition, a group of organizations from across New York City, including the Urban Youth Collaborative, Teachers Unite, New York Civil Liberties Union and Advocates for Children, that fought to pass the Student Safety Act.  Read testimony from NESRI and youth members of the Urban Youth Collaborative from the December 16 hearing on the bill.