Support the fight for Solutions Not Suspensions. Every student should be able to walk into a school that supports them through hard moments, rather than sending them out of class and closer to criminalization. Too often, our schools mirror the deepest harms of our society, as suspensions feed a school-to-prison pipeline that falls hardest on Black and brown students, LGBTQIA+ students, students with disabilities, and young people already harmed by deep inequities inside and outside of school. For more than a decade, AQE has worked in coalition with communities across the state to advance Solutions Not Suspensions. That statewide coalition now includes more than 120 groups, including Broadway Advocacy Coalition, which has worked with AQE over the years to use theater and storytelling in support of this fight. Together we’re working to pass a bill that would limit suspensions in schools and bring more restorative and transformative justice practices into more classrooms. This year, AQE helped build momentum through two Albany advocacy days. In February and again later in the session, students and families brought the demand for Solutions Not Suspensions directly to lawmakers. These moments matter because they bring the people most affected by policy into the rooms where power is held. As we head into the coming session, the bill will need to be reintroduced, and we are gathering support now for $50 million to be included in the Governor’s Executive Budget in January 2027 to support implementation when it passes. Sign on here to support. Organizations sign on here Individuals and families sign on here Please share these links with people and organizations in your community. We need as many New Yorkers as possible calling for Solutions Not Suspensions to help make this happen in the next legislative session. We can move this long overdue change together and bring New York closer to the public schools our children should be able to count on. In solidarity, Marina Marcou-O'Malley and Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari Co-Executive Directors, Alliance for Quality Education Early bird registration is open for the Diapers to Diplomas: Reimagining the Continuum of Learning, Care and Opportunity conference on October 15 and 16 in New York City. Register today to secure your spot.

Sent via ActionNetwork.org. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Alliance for Quality Education, please click here.