Testimony: The New York City Council Committees on Education, General Welfare and Criminal Justice - Oversight Hearing on Educational Programming in Detention Facilities.
Anna Arkin-Gallagher, Supervising Attorney and Policy Counsel in the Education Practice at Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS) testified before the New York City Council Committees on Education, General Welfare and Criminal Justice during a recent Oversight Hearing on Educational Programming in Detention Facilities.
Young people on Rikers Island have a right to educational services through the school year in which they turn 21, and should be enrolled in school within 10 days of requesting educational services. Nevertheless, school-aged youth on Rikers Island continually struggle to access educational services. For years, young people have reported to our staff that they were not aware education services were available on Rikers Island, were not told of their eligibility for school, were not brought to school after enrolling, were inconsistently escorted to school, or were not permitted to enroll in school at all. Every week, we learn of more students who wish to attend school and are unable to do so. Some young people are placed in facilities on Rikers Island that do not have school services available to them. Others are housed in facilities that do have educational services, but are not being housed in one of the units where people are permitted to attend school.
...
BDS supports Int. 542, which will help to address the lack of data reporting focused on education in New York City’s juvenile detention facilities, and allow for increased transparency to improve educational programming and services in these facilities.
We recommend strengthening reporting requirements regarding special education services, programming for English language learners, and instances in which students miss school for disciplinary reasons, staff shortages or other issues.