New Yorkers for Racially Just Public Schools RJPS

Thank you !

By vetoing Intro 175-B, the Mayor has taken an important step to protect students, educators, and school communities. Schools should be places of learning and expression, not zones of surveillance or suppression. More than 100 organizations and unions and thousands of New Yorkers came together in opposition, sending 25,136 letters to City Hall.

The message was clear: protect our voices and the rights of our students, parents, and educators to gather and protest.

City Council Members must now hold firm, vote no, and sustain the veto.

Action Alert! 🚨🚨🚨

RALLY TO PROTECT FREE SPEECH & SAFETY
📍 Near West Gate of New York City Hall
🗓 April 16
⏰ 12 PM

The Mayor is releasing a long-awaited Racial Equity Plan. Join the NYC Commission on Racial Equity (CORE) to celebrate the release of the plan and to learn about what comes next.

When: Monday April 6th at 5:30pm
Where: City Hall Park

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rally-to-declare-racial-justice-matters-tickets-1986452022473?aff=oddtdtcreator

As a coalition of numerous organizations from across New York City, RJPS stands in solidarity with Black people and elevates the plethora of Black education activists and advocates from within and outside of our collective. Unfortunately, the sentiments expressed at the CEC meeting on February 10th, 2026 is part of a long, pernicious history of anti-Black statements and actions against Black students, families, and communities in New York City and beyond. We amplify the efforts of the various Black-led member organizations, including PSPNY and Black-led CECs across the city, and organizers to rectify past and current harms within the district and co-sign the political and structural changes to uproot anti-Black racism from classrooms to central offices and all points in between.

We appreciate both Chancellor Kamar Samuels’ and Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recognition of the role that Black New Yorkers have played in the story we tell about the city, and now we must take this sentiment many steps further. The RJPS roadmap is not possible without the historical and social imprint Black students, families, educators, and community members left across the city and state, many of whom are still alive to tell the story. As such, our attention to integration as a form of collective power sharing, anti-bias and restorative justice training for adults, and codes of conduct and preventative systems in our educational operations show clearly our intention for a truly public education for all of our children, particularly those most marginalized by anti-Blackness.

Read our full statement: link in our bio.

We’re excited to partner with Senators John Liu, Robert Jackson, Jabari Brisport, Assemblymembers Marcela Mitaynes and Jessica Gonzales-Rojas to host a legislative briefing on the New Democratic School Governance Campaign this Thursday (3/19) at 8:30 AM in Albany.

We invite state legislative leaders to join us for this important conversation on advancing equitable, community-centered school governance.

Please share and tag your legislative leaders who should be part of this conversation.

On behalf of New Yorkers for Racially Just Public Schools (RJPS) and the Dignity in Schools Campaign–NY, we’re sharing a sign-on letter opposing NYC City Council bills Intros 175-A, 327, and 001-A.

This letter is backed by 55 organizations and 109 individuals—including educators, advocates, and community members—who are committed to protecting students’ rights and fostering safe, inclusive school environments.

As outlined, these bills would create “buffer zones” restricting protests near schools and houses of worship, expand police presence and surveillance, and provide funding for increased surveillance in private schools.

The broad support behind this letter reflects deep concern about the impact on civil liberties, the right to protest, and the overall climate in our schools and communities. Increased policing and surveillance risk making many students, families, and educators feel less safe—especially in communities already disproportionately affected by over-policing.

Read, share, and stand with us.

What a crew!

Some of New York City’s most knowledgeable and passionate education justice advocates coming together to continue pushing our city in the right direction.

New Yorkers for Racially Just Public Schools (RJPS) welcomes Council Member , a former special education teacher and UFT chapter leader in the Bronx, as Chair of the New York City Council’s Education Committee. As a broad-based coalition of students, parents, educators, and community leaders committed to education justice, we are hopeful that Chair Dinowitz will continue and strengthen the culture of collaboration and transparency established under former Chair Rita Joseph.

At a moment of significant transformation in public education under the Mamdani administration, combined with ongoing and renewed attacks from the Trump administration, New York City’s public schools require decisive, values-driven leadership from the City Council. As a system that serves a majority of low-income students and students of color, the Education Committee must be led by a Chair who clearly commits to protecting the most vulnerable, particularly immigrant students, low-income students, and trans and gender-expansive youth.

For the past four years, RJPS and allied advocates have collaborated closely with Chair Joseph, the Education Committee, and the Speaker’s Office to resist austerity measures and the weakening of policies focused on equity. Moving ahead, it is vital that the Chair of the Education Committee provides leadership that is grounded in the principles of Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education (CRSE). This leadership must be inclusive, collaborative, and innovative; it must prioritize community input, champion racial justice, and protect the future of New York City’s public schools.

Chair Rita Joseph has been a principled and effective leader for students, families, and educators, consistently centering racial justice, transparency, and community voice in critical education decisions. As a mother, former teacher, school principal and legislator, Chair Joseph brings lived experience and deep understanding of school communities across New York City—making her an invaluable asset to students, families, and educators.

At a moment when New York City’s public schools face deep inequities and urgent challenges, including growing threats from the federal government, the city needs steady, experienced leadership committed to accountability and equity. Chair Joseph has regularly met with advocates, parents and community members, to listen and respond to their concerns. Year after year, she has successfully led battles within the Council to restore budget cuts to education. During Council hearings, she ensured that student voices were heard by allowing them to testify first. Her persistent and values-driven leadership has provided them with a powerful model of what is possible, particularly for immigrant communities across the boroughs. With the many changes in this new year; a new Mayor and a new school Chancellor, it’s important to maintain some consistency in regards to this system that impacts our NYC Public Schools. Council Member Joseph has been a stalwart champion for our children and our schools.

We strongly urge Speaker Menin to retain Chair Joseph in this vital role and to continue advancing progress toward a more just and inclusive public school system for all New Yorkers. RJPS was proud to join 245 organizations and coalition partners in signing a recent letter to Speaker Menin, reflecting the broad and diverse support for Chair Joseph’s leadership. New York City’s public education system serves predominantly students of color, and Chair Joseph—who spent more than 20 years teaching in NYC public schools—brings invaluable experience and perspective to the forefront of these critical education discussions.

When trans lives are under attack, what do we do?

Stand up, fight back!

We were proud to stand with our fellow New Yorkers to reaffirm our collective commitment to protecting our trans and gender expansive students, parents, and educators from any fascist attacks. Whether they come for Supreme Court, the Trump administration, congress, or by transphobic community members in our schools, we will continue to stand alongside leaders like .formative.schools, , and New Pride Agenda!

For those that seek to divide our communities through fear and misinformation, we reject you, and we won’t fall for this morally bankrupt playbook.

For the community and elected leaders who purport to be allies standing by in silence while our trans children and siblings are under attack, we see you. We will remember, and history will record your actions and inactions.

Solidarity and Liberation to all.

RJPS leaders in the news again.

We seek clarification on ’s apparent reversal on Mayoral Control and hope there is continued dialogue about the value of this particular policy.

Inside Mamdani's reversal on mayoral control of NYC schools Insiders said Mamdani needed to maintain the school governance model to achieve universal child care.