School Committee Meeting March 18, 2020 #LearnWithoutFear #NoICEinBPS Campaign
Sign up to join us March 18 at the Boston School Committee to show our support for a policy that keeps our students safe. Learn more below...
~Español Abajo~
The Student Immigrant Movement and Unafraid Educators in partnership with community and other stakeholders have been working on pushing Boston Public Schools district to adopt a policy which would address when and how Boston School Police officers can share students' information with the Boston Police Department and other parts of law enforcement. We know that reports are used to criminalize our students and to endanger them and their families.
We are also looking to expand this effort, and have been working with city councilors to do so.
While we began this work focusing on undocumented students (and the media has continued this narrative), we know that this is actually a much broader issue that impacts all of our students. The Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) isn't just a pool of information for Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE). It is also home to the gang database, for example, which targets mostly Black young men, and the FBI, whose agents actively surveil Muslims in Boston and beyond. A policy that regulates information-sharing with the BPD will help to keep all of our students safer.
On February 5, 2020, we testified at the School Committee meeting alongside Black Lives Matter at Schools in support of these demands:
- End zero tolerance
- Mandate teaching Black history and ethnic studies
- Hire more Black teachers
- Fund counselors not cops
In their testimonies, youth, educators, and community members made it clear that Boston Public Schools needs to adopt our policy as part of this work. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/hREWTzQDC_A!
We've accomplished so much in our last gatherings around the fight to transform Boston Public Schools (BPS) into schools that are welcoming and safe for all young people. With more than 250 community members present at our previous gatherings we've been able to:
- Strategize about educating the community on this issue to get everyone engaged!
- Write testimonies to deliver at Boston School Committee Meetings!
- Envision the larger fight: short, mid, and long-term goals, like supporting local ordinances!
- Come up with the next steps of action!
We are eager to keep the momentum going: There is a lot of work to be done! And we have a number of exciting opportunities for people to get involved:
- We need 2,000 signatures before March 18 only 500 more! Share the petition: bit.ly/NoICEinBPS
- Come to the March 18, 2020 School Committee Meeting, 6:00-8:00p.m. at the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building (2300 Washington St, Roxbury, MA 02119). We will be delivering the petition and testifying! Let us know if you can testify and we’ll get you on the list: bit.ly/testimonyform18.
- Come to the next community meeting: April 2, 2020 at 6:00pm-8:30pm location TBA -- Sign-up here!
- Fin de cero tolerancia
- Mandato que enseña historia negra y estudios étnicos
- Contrata más profesores morenos
- Fundar consejeros, no la policía
- ¡Crear una estrategia para educar a la comunidad sobre este tema para que todos participen!
- ¡Escribimos testimonios para entregar en las Reuniones del Comité Escolar de Boston!
- Imaginamos la lucha más alla: ¡objetivos a corto, mediano y largo plazo, como apoyar las ordenanzas locales!
- ¡Creamos los próximos pasos de acción!
- ¡Necesitamos 2,000 firmas antes del 18 de marzo, solo 500 más! bit.ly/NoICEinBPS
- Reunión del Comité Escolar 18 de marzo de 2020 6: 00-8: 00 p.m. en el Edificio Municipal Bruce C. Bolling 2300 Washington St, Roxbury, MA 02119. Entregaremos la petición y testificaremos. Háganos saber si puede testificar y te pondremos en la lista! : bit.ly/testimonyform18
- Reunión comunitaria: 2 de abril de 2020 a las 6:00 pm-8:30pm (esperando a confirmar el espacio) clique aquí