August 28, 2020
Chancellor Richard Carranza
52 Chambers St
New York, NY 10007
Re: A Restorative Reopening Plan for the 2020-2021 School Year
Dear Chancellor Carranza,
The 2019-2020 school year presented historic challenges to the New York City Department of
Education (“DOE”) and the 2020-2021 school year is presenting similar, if not greater,
challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic, amplified by systemic racism, has disproportionately
harmed historically marginalized groups within the DOE community. As school community
members face incalculable hardship, fostering a healthy and safe school climate for all students
in ​every learning setting is of the utmost importance. Therefore, it is essential that the DOE
prioritize protecting the mental, emotional, and social health of students during the full duration
of the 2020-2021 school year.
Given this backdrop, Advocates for Children of New York and Girls for Gender Equity write to
you as organizations that work directly with DOE students and families to make the following
recommendations to ensure that all aspects of the DOE’s reopening plans are trauma-informed,
culturally-responsive, grounded in restorative practices, and geared towards developing
healing-centered school communities. While we commend the DOE for including a commitment
to trauma-informed care, social-emotional learning, and mental health support in the 2020-2021
New York City schools reopening plan submitted to the New York State Education Department
and the new Bridge to School curriculum, the DOE’s plan falls short on specificity. It does not
specify the supports and services that students, families, and schools will be able to access and
how they can be accessed, and it does not address other critical aspects of the trauma students
have been experiencing during the pandemic. We hope the DOE will adopt the following
recommendations as part of the reopening plan for the fall:
Strengthen the Bridge to School Plan
The DOE must make sure that all learning – whether remote or blended – acknowledges the
significant trauma our school communities have experienced and takes intentional steps to
rebuild, restore, and heal school communities. After the DOE transitioned from in-person to
remote learning in March, we heard from many members of school communities that, in school,
they did not have an opportunity to process what they were experiencing, including the
significant social-emotional toll the pandemic and police violence have been having on members
of the school community. There are countless others who have been impacted as well.
This fall, it is critical that the DOE proactively address trauma on a citywide basis for all students
and school staff. We appreciate that the DOE’s plan states that all schools will provide
community- and relationship-building experiences as an integral part of the school day.

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 However, the DOE should go further and mandate that all schools focus on supporting the social
and emotional well-being and resiliency of students when school begins before phasing in
academic content, and then infuse this support throughout the school year. The DOE should take
the lead in facilitating these healing-centered transitions back to school by providing schools
with the resources, tools, staff, and guidance to effectively acknowledge and address the adverse
experiences and trauma that students and staff experienced individually and collectively and to
help students and staff foster and achieve well-being by building upon their experiences, skills,
and assets. The Bridge to School Plan must also specify opportunities for adults to process,
connect, learn, and build their capacity to support their school communities.
In order to encourage connection, healing, and relationship-building for students learning
in-person and remotely, we recommend that this transition period focus on community circles
and other restorative and trauma-informed practices. These evidence-based practices provide a
safe and supportive structure to address how students are feeling, what students want to share
about their experiences since school buildings closed, and what they think they need to do well
in school. Restorative circles proactively address the hardship students confront by strengthening
social bonds, advancing anti-racism and equity, and fostering community resilience. During the
transition period, the DOE and schools should also share information and resources about how
they will support students, families, and school staff.
Additionally, to ensure all students are welcomed back into their school communities, the DOE
must immediately reinstate all students with pending or proposed suspensions and withdraw their
suspensions. ​These students should be welcomed back to school in the community circles at the
same time that other students return to school. There is no value in requiring students to remain
on suspension, only continued harm through lost days of instruction and further isolation and
disconnection.
Restrict Exclusionary Discipline During Blended Learning and Promote Restorative and
Non-Punitive Responses
DOE reopening plans must help ​all ​students make up for lost instructional time due to the
significant limitations of remote learning and encourage connectedness to the school community.
Therefore, the DOE should significantly restrict ​any practice that excludes students from their
school communities. Exclusionary punishments are not only ineffective, but they
disproportionately impact Black and Brown students and students with disabilities.
First, ​during the 2020-2021 school year, we recommend that the DOE place a
temporary​ moratorium on new suspensions for all ​behavior constituting a ​Level 1 to Level ​4
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infraction of the NYC Discipline Code​. ​W​hen students return to school​, they may act out
because of pandemic-related stress, anxiety, depression, hunger, and sleep problems. They may
be grieving the loss of a parent’s job, their home, or loved ones. They may feel overwhelmed by
​ ​Letter from the Solutions Not Suspensions Coalition to Betty Rosa, Chancellor of the New York Board of Regents
(April 16, 2020),
https://www.nyclu.org/sites/default/files/20201604_snsletter_regentrosa_discipline_during_covid-19.pdf
(recommending a moratorium on new suspensions during periods of remote learning).
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 the intense social isolation, separation from close friends and teachers, and ongoing uncertainty
and fear about the future. They may be struggling in school and worrying about falling behind in
their classes. Instead of punishing and excluding students from their school communities, the
DOE should provide alternatives that are equitable, trauma-informed, restorative,
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culturally-responsive, and safe and supportive for all returning students. The DOE should, at a
minimum:
● Provide school staff with lessons to teach students behavioral expectations;
● Increase social-emotional supports and services for students, particularly those
experiencing challenges, by providing all students with access to guidance counselors
and social workers and direct mental health supports and services, and by providing
students with significant mental health challenges targeted and intensive mental health
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supports and services. Such supports and services should be provided prior to, and in
most instances in lieu of, any exclusionary discipline;
● Remind school staff of the myriad supports, interventions, and alternatives to classroom
removal and suspension listed in the discipline code and how they can access assistance
to implement them;
● Provide opportunities to train young people in peer mediation and for young people to
mediate conflicts amongst their peers;
● Provide training and monitoring of school staff on the special protections that students
with disabilities have related to school discipline – including students where the DOE is
deemed to know students have a disability, and ensure that students with disabilities
receive positive behavioral supports and interventions when necessary and are not
suspended or otherwise disciplined for behavior exhibited as a result of their disability;
● Remind school staff that they must carefully examine circumstances of a student’s
behavior and take into account the student’s individual circumstances before determining
any consequences for student behavior; and
● Provide support and training for school staff to understand that student behavior
communicates needs and provide staff with ways for them to address those student needs.
Kara Arundel, ​Avoid Punitive Approach to School Discipline During the Pandemic,​ S​PECIAL​ E​D​ C​ONNECTION​ (​July
21, 2020), ​https://www.specialedconnection.com/LrpSecStoryTool/index.jsp?contentId=22730785​.
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​The New York City Comptroller issued a report on school reopening recommending that the DOE implement a
Mental Health Continuum “to enable a team of clinicians to work with students and staff to coordinate with schools
and enhance their capacity to respond to students in crisis, and provide direct mental health support to students and
families as needed. New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, “Strong Schools for All: A Plan Forward for New
York City,” (July 2020),
https://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/documents/School_Reopening_Report_07_07_20.pdf​ ​(referencing
The Mayor’s Leadership Team on School Climate and Discipline, Maintaining the Momentum: A Plan for Safety
and Fairness In Schools, Phase Two Recommendations, (July 2016),
http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/sclt/downloads/pdf/SCLT_Report_7-21-16.pdf​, ​which first developed and proposed the
Mental Health Continuum model in 2016). See also Letter from 41 Organizations to Mayor Bill de Blasio Re:
Funding for Students with Significant Mental Health Needs, (April 17, 2020),
https://www.advocatesforchildren.org/sites/default/files/on_page/mental_health_continuum_letter_41720.pdf​.
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 As discussed further below, the DOE should provide professional development to school
staff before school starts and ongoing training, coaching, and oversight.
Second, the DOE should issue clear guidance to school staff that prohibits any practice that
discourages young people from participating in remote learning. The DOE must also promote
culturally-responsive teaching and restorative justice classroom management techniques to staff
participating in remote learning to set clear expectations for school communities that are remote.
During the Spring 2020 remote learning period, young people reported incidents of educators
putting them on mute for speaking “out of turn,” a punitive response made possible through
remote learning that fosters an unwelcoming classroom environment. The way young people
describe it, muting their voice is the remote learning equivalent to a classroom removal.
Additionally, students engaging in remote learning should not be required to be on camera at all
times. One young person reported that her Physical Education teacher required that she keep her
camera on during class, which made her feel scrutinized. Some young people may already
experience shame about their bodies, particularly in physical education, and the requirement to
be on camera and be on display may feel invasive to a young person’s privacy, and risks making
students feel overly self-conscious of their appearance and less likely to show up for class. In
addition, during remote learning, young people have reported vulnerability to cyberbullying –
through photos and screen recording – with little subsequent access to restorative responses.
Affirming a student’s choice to stay off camera may make students feel more comfortable in
school and protect them from cyberbullying.
Third, the DOE must set forth a policy that school staff should not contact School Resource
Officers/School Safety Agents or other members of law enforcement, Emergency Medical
Services, or the Administration for Children’s Services to respond to the vast majority of student
behavior, including students in emotional distress or crises. No student in emotional distress or
crisis should face the police or be placed in handcuffs. Teachers and mental health professionals,
and not the police, are best equipped to respond to student behavior, including behavior exhibited
due to emotional distress or crisis. Police interventions for students in crises inflicts significant
emotional and physical trauma and is disproportionately used on Black and Brown students and
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students with disabilities.
Fourth, the DOE must make clear that managing compliance with pandemic-related health
measures, such as physical distancing protocols and mandatory protective equipment, including
masks, must be non-punitive and not carried out by law enforcement. Any response to a
student’s inability to follow enhanced safety measures must involve offering accommodations
that take into full consideration the student’s age, the unique impact of any early childhood
trauma, the student’s developmental stage, and any disability. For example, students with autism,
asthma, anxiety, or other physical, developmental, or mental disabilities may have difficulty
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keeping their faces covered and remaining physically distant. No student with a disability
Advocates for Children of New York, ​Children in Crisis: Police Response to Students in Emotional Distress​ (Nov.
2017), ​https://www.advocatesforchildren.org/sites/default/files/library/children_in_crisis.pdf?pt=1​.
5
​See ​Florence Simmons, ​Offer reasonable accommodations for Students Who Are Unable to Wear Face Coverings​,
S​PECIAL​ E​D​ C​ONNECTION​ (July 21, 2020),
https://www.specialedconnection.com/LrpSecStoryTool/index.jsp?contentId=22730750.
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 struggling to comply with pandemic-related health measures should be punished or excluded
from in-person learning, or face law enforcement. The DOE can ensure that these health
guidelines are met and school communities remain safe by being creative, clearly and regularly
communicating to students, and responding to students in restorative and non-punitive ways. For
example, schools can rearrange classroom environments to encourage and facilitate social
distancing, allow for mask breaks during times when social distance can be maintained, place
signs about any protocols in school buildings for a visual reminder of expectations for students,
and regularly engage students in developmentally appropriate discussions about why the
measures are necessary during this time.
Provide School Communities With Resources, Tools, Staff, Training, and Coaching to Support
the Social-Emotional Needs of Students
The DOE must offer all students the opportunity to receive counseling and other mental health
services upon return to school, clearly communicate this offer to all families using methods of
communication accessible to all families, and provide such services to students. Additionally, the
DOE should ensure that students with significant mental health challenges that predated the
pandemic, including students transported from school to the hospital for psychiatric evaluation,
receive more targeted and intensive supports and services. We recommend that the DOE
repurpose central and borough-based staff resources to provide behavioral and mental health
support directly to students. Such staff could include social workers and guidance counselors
from Alternate Learning Centers, ThriveNYC social workers (school response clinicians and
social workers in other student mental health initiatives), Borough/Citywide Office staff (e.g.,
behavior specialists, social workers, special education staff, student support staff, crisis
de-escalation staff, school climate managers), restorative justice coordinators, and others.
During the remote learning period in the 2019-2020 school year, young people reported incidents
in which educators were unable to respond to conflict during class time or manage a remote
learning environment and lacked access to restorative supports to address conflict and
harassment. For example, one student reported a digital classroom environment where sexist and
racist comments and chat messages were continually left unchallenged by the teacher, leaving
the student to feel unsafe. Over the past few years, the DOE has built out its internal
infrastructure to support schools in growing their use of restorative practices through the hiring
of a citywide director of restorative justice, borough directors of restorative justice programs,
restorative justice coordinators, and school climate managers. The DOE also has personnel who
practice restorative practices and provide social emotional supports at Alternative Learning
Centers, who are likely underutilized given the decrease in suspensions. The DOE should
repurpose and expand access to these supports to all schools to restoratively address conflict and
harassment. By leveraging remote learning platforms, DOE staff can reach more school
communities to help fill the need for more restorative supports in this new learning environment.
As more learning will take place online due to the DOE’s blended learning model, it is vital that
the DOE proactively provide students with the tools to lead safe and healthy digital lives and
proactively provide teachers with clear guidance regarding online learning best practices that
foster student connectedness and inclusivity. To do this, the DOE should actively promote digital

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 citizenship to develop and foster critical thinking and social-emotional skills in online
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interactions and respond to incidents that occur through online learning in a restorative way.
Digital ​citizenship helps young people learn how to safely and effectively participate in the
digital world, including helping them understand their rights and responsibilities, recognize the
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benefits and risks, and realize the personal and ethical implications of their actions. There are
developmentally appropriate digital citizenship curricula available to the public, and the DOE
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should encourage schools to use these curricula. Additionally, the DOE should publish safety
protocols for online learning and make them available to the public. The DOE should offer
professional development on facilitating a safe online classroom and digital citizenship, make
lesson plans and modules easily accessible to all DOE teachers, and provide interactive digital
modules for students. Here too, DOE central staff and Alternate Learning Center staff, such as
restorative justice coordinators, social workers, and counselors, should be repurposed to support
restorative practices. As educators have developed creative tools and solutions, the DOE should
work to draw on, share, and create a digital space for collecting and disseminating those success
stories.
Since many students have experienced trauma because of the COVID-19 pandemic and police
violence, the DOE should require all school staff who have direct contact with young people and
families to receive ongoing training around Trauma-Informed Best Practices and
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Social-Emotional Learning core competencies. This could be delivered in creative ways, such as
embedding these competencies in all professional development and providing ongoing coaching
on these practices. The DOE should provide all staff who interact directly with students with
professional development in one of these competencies during the summer or during the
Chancellor’s professional development days. The DOE should also provide a centralized bank of
online professional development in these competencies so that staff have ongoing access to them.
Provide a Clear, Restorative Reopening Plan to the Public and Seek Continuous Feedback
While we appreciate that the City is working to provide information on reopening as it becomes
available, we are concerned that the information provided thus far does not contain specific
information on how the City will address the significant social-emotional needs of our school
See ​Carrie James, ​et al.,​ Teaching Digital Citizens in Today’s World: Research and Insights Behind the Common
Sense K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum, 28-33 (2019),
https://d1e2bohyu2u2w9.cloudfront.net/education/sites/default/files/tlr_component/common_sense_education_digit
al_citizenship_research_backgrounder.pdf​ (describing how digital citizenship teaches students skills to improve
their well-being in digital interactions).
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Making Caring Common Project, For Educators: Digital Citizenship Resource List,
https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/resources-for-educators/digital-citizenship-resource-list​ (last reviewed October
2018)(citing TechInCtrl, Teaching Digital Citizenship, (2019) www.​ciconline.org/DigitalCitizenship)​.
8
​See, e.g., ​Common Sense Education, Digital Citizen Curriculum,
https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/curriculum​ (2020).
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​See generally, H
​ ealing-Centered Schools Working Group, Community Roadmap to Bring Healing-Centered
Schools to the Bronx, 92 (2020)
https://www.legalservicesnyc.org/storage/PDFs/community%20roadmap%20to%20bring%20healing-centered%20s
chools%20to%20the%20bronx.pdf ​(​listing healing centered and trauma-sensitive training resources).
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 communities, including how students and families can access supports and services. The DOE
must commit to creating a detailed plan that addresses the points in this letter prior to the
reopening of schools. To ensure that schools are providing healing-centered support to school
communities, the DOE should publish its detailed plan to promote a healing-centered transition
by September 10, 2020, seek feedback from community members on the specifics of the plan,
and commit to updating the plan to meet the needs and input of school communities.
We appreciate your time and consideration of this letter and would like to meet with you to
discuss our recommendations. For follow up, please contact Dawn Yuster, Director of the
School Justice Project at Advocates for Children at ​dyuster@advocatesforchildren.org or (718)
813-7389 or Nicole Hamilton, Director of Community Partnerships at Girls for Gender Equity at
nhamilton@ggenyc.org​ or (718) 857-1393.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Advocates for Children of New York and Girls for Gender Equity
Cc:

Donald Conyers, DConyer@schools.nyc.gov
LaShawn Robinson, LRobinson5@schools.nyc.gov
Katherine Jedrlinic, ​KJedrlinic@schools.nyc.gov
Mark Rampersant, ​MRamper@schools.nyc.gov
Kenyatte Reid, KReid3@schools.nyc.gov
Tim Lisante, ​tlisant@schools.nyc.gov
Bob Zweig, RZweig@schools.nyc.gov
Nick Marinacci, ​NMarinacci@schools.nyc.gov
Linda Hearns, LHearns@schools.nyc.gov

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