Title
Authorizing the joint City Council Committees on Education and Children & Youth to hold hearings on the prevalence of the usage of exclusionary school discipline and the use of collective punishment practices in public schools across Philadelphia, and on how these and other policies and practices perpetuate anti-blackness and anti-Black racism and harm students academically, socially, emotionally to the detriment of their health, well-being, and future life outcomes.
Body
WHEREAS, The education system in the United States was built upon a foundation of anti-Blackness, anti-Black racism, and racial discrimination, borne of American Slavery, the vestiges of which continue to plague our education system today; and
WHEREAS, Exclusionary school discipline policies and practices continue to function as an instrument of racial discrimination and segregation that pushes Black children out of our public schools and into the school-to-prison pipeline; and
WHEREAS, As outlined in its 2023-2028 Strategic Plan, Accelerate Philly, the School District of Philadelphia has committed to "advancing equity through everything we do and every decision we make" and committed to ensure that "students' potential will not be limited by practices that perpetuate systemic racism and hinder student achievement" through the implementation of Guardrail 4, which is aimed "addressing racist practices"; and
WHEREAS, In March of 2022, former School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Dr. William Hite stated that "some of our students are forced to witness and endure acts of hatred because of the color of their skin, are dehumanized for where they come from and how they look, and live within conditions that place their bodies under constant attack, rendering them voiceless by the very system that is supposed to protect and empower them," He further committed to "expand[ing] [the School District of Philadelphia's] efforts and take collective action, challenging and changing the w...
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