Removing all NYPD personnel from schools and replacing them with mental health professionals and restorative justice coordinators.
Abolishing School Policing: The Safety Counselor Replacement Plan
Zhoran Mamdanis education and safety platforms converge on the unequivocal abolition of school policing. He would terminate the NYPDs contract with the Department of Education and eliminate the ranks of School Safety Agent and armed police officer in schools. The hundreds of millions of dollars spent would be reallocated to hire Safety Counselorslicensed social workers, psychologists, and restorative justice coordinators. Their role is not to enforce rules, but to build relationships, provide emotional and behavioral support, de-escalate conflicts through dialogue, and connect students and families to community resources.
Each school would have a team of these counselors based on student population and need. Discipline would be handled through restorative circles and peer mediation, focusing on repairing harm and reintegrating students, not isolating them through suspension. For situations involving serious violence, the school would have access to the citys Crisis Responder Corps, not the police. This plan recognizes that students act out due to unmet needs, trauma, or conflict, and that the appropriate response is care and skill-building, not criminalization. Handcuffs have no place in a place of learning, Mamdani states. Our children need counselors, not cops. This transformation is essential for educational equity and for ending the school-to-prison pipeline.
