YAF Executive Director speaks at Boston City Council Hearing on Reopening BPS

On Friday, July 31st, YAF’s Executive Director, Marlies Spanjaard, testified at the Boston City Council meeting on restorative justice practices and the role of police in our schools. Marlies highlighted the racial disparities that exist in Massachusetts around educational attainment and school discipline, as well as the overrepresentation of students with disabilities in the juvenile justice system.

Marlies noted that in Massachusetts, Black boys with disabilities have a suspension rate 17X their white female peers and that in the 2015 – 2016 school year, 1.7 million students nationwide attended schools that had police but no school counselors.

You can watch Marlies' testimony here: https://youtu.be/WyUtcMDyJ_s?t=13357