In response to the over policing and lack of support staff and programming in school districts with majority Black and Brown student populations in New Jersey, and the recent murders of Ma’Khia Bryant (16), Adam Toledo (13), Anthony J. Thompson (17), and Daunte Wright (20), four Black and Brown youth who also lacked supportive services in their schools, New Jersey youth are demanding investment in #CounselorsNotCops.
Specifically, New Jersey youth are:
- Calling on the New Jersey state legislature to pass a law to redefine New Jersey’s hundreds of millions of dollars in annual “categorical security aid” to prioritize student supports instead of security guard salaries; and
- Calling on local school districts to focus American Rescue Plan funds on mental health staff and programming for students, not additional police.