End Jim Crow Education in East Ramapo Schools

Act Now

The East Ramapo School District in Rockland County is a shocking example of 21st Century Jim Crow-style education.

For more than a decade, the white-majority school board has favored private education while hollowing out the schools attended by Black and Latinx youth. Even though the district receives considerable state investment, the school board is unaccountable to the public school community. As a result, the schools are in rapid decline.

Lead-contaminated drinking fountains are in every public school building in East Ramapo, and the district has some of the lowest graduation rates and student performance of any district in the county. These outcomes would never be tolerated by New York State if most of the students were white, but because the students are overwhelmingly children of color, including large immigrant communities, these conditions are allowed to persist.

TAKE ACTION: Tell state officials to fight systemic racism and stand up for East Ramapo's public school students.

Message Recipients:
Governor Kathy Hochul
Speaker Carl Heastie
Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins
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The East Ramapo School District in Rockland County is a shocking example of 21st Century Jim Crow-style education.

Not too long ago, the district's thriving and diverse public schools were the envy of other districts across the state. But for the past decade, the white-majority school board has systematically favored private education and hollowed out the public schools – and willfully abandoned Black and Latinx youth. Even though the district receives considerable state investment, the school board is unaccountable to the public school community or to state officials. As a result, the schools are in rapid decline.

In June 2023, the NYCLU reported on a state-mandated building conditions survey that found lead-contaminated drinking fountains in every school building in the district.

The state must act now. Specifically, I call on you to:

1. Replace the elected school board with an appointed local board that is representative of and accountable to the public school population.

2. End the district’s wasteful spending on transportation and school bus contracts that don’t deliver results for families.

3. Ensure the district’s local tax rates keep pace with comparable districts, within the tax cap, so the public schools can deliver a sound basic education and make urgent building repairs.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

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End Jim Crow Education in East Ramapo Schools

Act Now

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