Westchester Children’s Association Hosts Youth Justice Rally

Nearly 100 young adults and representatives of various advocacy groups attended a Youth Justice Rally on Thursday, February 23rd at the White Plains Adult Community Center hosted by the Westchester Children’s Association. The rally was held to provide information and education to youth, young adults and their allies about four bills currently pending in the New York State legislature. If passed, each bill provides significant steps toward disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline and reducing the impact of the criminal legal system on young people.  The four bills are: Solutions Not Suspensions (S1040 Jackson) The Youth Justice & Opportunities Act (Myrie S3426 / O’Donnell A4238) Right 2 Remain Silent Youth Interrogation Bill (Bailey S1099 / Joyner A1963) The Clean Slate Act (S211 Myrie / A1029 Cruz) During the event Angel Gray, Program and Policy Manager for WCA said, “Youth are being ripped out of classrooms, and black and brown students are disciplined more severely and more frequently than their white peers for the same or similar behaviors in schools, which can lead to unequal educational opportunities and a host of negative outcomes later in life.”  One student speaker said, “I was suspended frequently between 5th and 12th grade, each time I missed [...]

Westchester Children’s Association Hosts Youth Justice Rally
Nearly 100 young adults and representatives of various advocacy groups attended a Youth Justice Rally on Thursday, February 23rd at the White Plains Adult Community Center hosted by the Westchester Children’s Association. The rally was held to provide information and education to youth, young adults and their allies about four bills currently pending in the New York State legislature. If passed, each bill provides significant steps toward disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline and reducing the impact of the criminal legal system on young people.  The four bills are: Solutions Not Suspensions (S1040 Jackson) The Youth Justice & Opportunities Act (Myrie S3426 / O’Donnell A4238) Right 2 Remain Silent Youth Interrogation Bill (Bailey S1099 / Joyner A1963) The Clean Slate Act (S211 Myrie / A1029 Cruz) During the event Angel Gray, Program and Policy Manager for WCA said, “Youth are being ripped out of classrooms, and black and brown students are disciplined more severely and more frequently than their white peers for the same or similar behaviors in schools, which can lead to unequal educational opportunities and a host of negative outcomes later in life.”  One student speaker said, “I was suspended frequently between 5th and 12th grade, each time I missed [...]