OUR WORK

In October 2021, students organizers from Schools Not Jails worked with Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD)'s office to attempt and secure his cosponsorship on the Counseling Not Criminalization Act (CNCA) introduced by Senator Murphy for the 2021-2022 congressional session. The bill entailed the ending of federal funds to SRO programs nationwide, the divestment of those resources into the hiring of counseling and trauma-informed staff, and other community programs.

Schools Not Jails' New York student chapter partnered with members of the Close Rikers Island Coalition through New York City's Freedom Agenda in a Day of Advocacy centered at building support on New York City Council to close Rikers, divest prison and police funding to city and community resources, and implement humane conditions in the city's remaining municipal prison facilities. This Day of Advocacy included an online phonebank, where Darren Mack, founder of Freedom Agenda, spoke about the history of Rikers and the fight against it. It also included resources for DIY phone banking, encouraged emails and social media outreach aimed at City Councilors on these issues.

The Day of Advocacy toolkit can be found here

Schools Not Jails' Tennessee student chapter partnered with members of the Nashville People's Plaza coalition, namely Safer Schools Nashville, in a Day of Advocacy Against SROs in Tennessee in response to the Hunter Lane incident. After Nashville SRO Byron Boelter got into a violent altercation with a student at Hunters Lane HS, putting the 15 year-old boy in a headlock and spraying him with pepper spray, this Day of Advocacy was organized to initiate outreach to Nashville local elected officials, encouraging them to take action and reign in the abuse of Nashville SROs. The event resources supported humane alternatives to SROs and templates for Twitter posts, emails, and other social media action items spread on Instagram and Twitter.

The Day of Advocacy Toolkit can be found here

Schools Not Jails, in collaboration with the Proletariat Coalition (comprised of Climate Action Council, a Maryland-Tennessee based organization of youth climate and environmental justice organizers) and Elmahaba Center, an Arab-American organization in Nashville, issued a Toolkit for youth resources on May Day. This toolkit included action items for how young folks can support their unions, resources as to how to form a union and what to bear in mind, particularly for minors working part-time or full-time jobs, and various updates on the American labor scene and policy movement.

You can find this Toolkit here

Schools Not Jails' Maryland student chapter collaborated with Organize Poppleton, a collective and mutual-aid organization in based Southwest Baltimore, to write letters to Baltimore's Committee of Historical Artifacts and Preservation (CHAP) against the forced displacement of Baltimorean residents and the classification of certain Poppleton blocks as historically protected. We additionally supported their letter-writing campaign on Action Network and heard a presentation on city history and gentrification in Baltimore compiled by renowned local organizer Loraine Arikat.

Find their letter-writing campaign here

Schools Not Jails' Maryland student chapter issued a letter-writing campaign and petition against mandatory security checks in Baltimore City alongside candidates for the Board of Education, Ashley Esposito and Salimah Jasani. Additionally, they discussed, with students and community members, the policy process that led to the implementation of mandatory security checks and demanded a thorough review and publication of an internal report on the Digital Harbor altercation and a community consultation period to allow for scrutiny of the public safety measure. Additionally, all parties involved called for an end to Policy BBA to allow for dissenting Commissioners.

Sign the petition formed here

Schools Not Jails' Tennessee student chapter is partnering with the Elmahaba Center, Middle Tennessee's DSA, and Safer Schools Nashville, in curating a space to grab unionized coffee and talk abolition in Nashville. This event is structured to answer questions regarding abolition as well as discuss what a future where abolition is a reality would look like.

Find the flyer here

RSVP here —
https://actionnetwork.org/events/june-abolitionist-chat

Schools Not Jails issued a Toolkit for youth resources on May Day. This toolkit included action items for how young folks can support their unions, resources as to how to form a union and what to bear in mind, particularly for minors working part-time or full-time jobs, and various updates on the American labor scene and policy movement.

You can find this Toolkit here

Schools Not Jails' New York student chapter is petitioning the New York City Council for police-free schools and an end to the city's subsidization of New York School Police via its School Resource Officer Program. Petitioning and the collection of signatures is ongoing as NYC budget season continues.

Sign the petition here

Schools Not Jails' Tennessee student chapter is petitioning the Metro Nashville Council for an end, or at least reduction, in city funding for School Police in Metro Nashville Public Schools via their School Resource Officer program. Petitioning and the collection of signatures is ongoing as Nashville budget season continues.

Sign the petition here

Schools Not Jails' New York student chapter has joined a coalition of over 150 organizations across the state in calling on Governor Hochul to appoint a Chief Judge who will stand up for the rights of all New Yorkers. SNJ New York issued a statement in December opposing Justice Hector LaSalle's nomination as Chief Judge of New York because of his anti-abortion, anti-union, anti-due process, and pro-prosecution views and biases.

Learn more about #TheCourtNYDeserves