Investing in our Young People and our Futures
Fully fund our public schools, and make public college free in New York.
Every child and young person has the right to a high-quality education, regardless of zip code. We need to ensure that state funding is spent supporting our public schools through smaller classroom sizes, social and emotional supports, arts and music offerings, and after-school programs. We need to make public college free and fully invest in our young people and our futures.
From preschool through college, we need to invest in strong public education, and remove the barriers that have barred so many from accessing opportunity. Teachers, parents, students and school staff all have a role in how we ensure that our students have the highest quality education possible, and it is up to the state to provide the financial and infrastructural support necessary to make that possible.
As we have seen in the last year and a half, we also need to fundamentally shift the way we keep our students and school staff safe—retrofitting old systems and buildings to be accessible and promote physical and mental health, and committing to restorative justice programs that will end the school-to-prison pipeline and help our young people truly thrive in academics and beyond.
As your Governor, I would:
Pass a New Deal for CUNY and Free SUNY so all of our young people can get the world-class higher education they deserve.
Ensure full funding for strong public schools, including healing-centered and community schools.
Commit to expanded and multi-year investments in summer youth jobs.
End the school to prison pipeline by investing in counseling and peer to peer support structures, not suspensions and policing.
Transform schools to become healthy and environmentally-friendly spaces for our children.