Tell Congress to pass the Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act!
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Dear Friend,

In a time when the current administration is instructing the military and
police to target Black, Brown, and immigrant communities, it is more
crucial than ever to end the regular presence of law enforcement in our
schools and invest in what actually keeps schools safe. Real school safety
is about investing in student supports, that means investing in mental
health professionals such as school counselors, nurses, and social
workers. The regular presence of police in school environments continues
to fuel the school-to-prision pipeline.

The U.S. is currently facing a nationwide shortage of school counselors
and mental health professionals in public schools. 48 states currently
exceed the recommended 250 students to 1 counselor ratio. Thus, resulting
in counselors struggling to properly serve each student or not attend to
them at all. In 2024, 17% of high school students did not have a school
counselor, accounting for 653,700 students².

[ [link removed] ]Take Action To Tell Congress To Pass The Counseling Not Criminalization
in School Act!

In place of school counselors, police are contracted by school districts
to monitor students and respond to any and all conflicts. Data tells us
that when police are present in schools, students are 5 times more likely
to be arrested for incidents that would be better handled by the school
administration and trained mental health professionals. Police do not have
the proper training to address these conflicts and police interventions
set students up for entering the juvenile and criminal legal systems
unnecessarily.

[ [link removed] ]It’s Time We Invest In School Counselors and Nurses for Our Students! 

The Counseling Not Criminalization in School Act is federal legislation
that would encourage schools to divest from police in schools and invest
in mental health professionals such as school counselors, psychologists,
and nurses.

Yes, we want schools to be safe but there is no evidence that increasing
the number of police in schools improves school safety. Instead, it takes
critical resources from what keeps schools safe and helps ALL kids
thrive. 

[ [link removed] ]There Are More Police Than School Counselors In Public Schools. We Can
Change That!

As our country experiences an urgent youth mental health crisis, the data
shows that more than one in three high school students said they
experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and one in
five students seriously considered suicide.

Restorative approaches would include:

* More mental health staff and counselors, 
* Social-emotional learning, and 
* Trauma-informed care in our schools.

When we invest in school counselors, nurses, social workers, and
psychologists who are trained to support children, and in schools, we see
improved attendance rates, better academic achievement, higher graduation
rates, and lower rates of suspension, expulsion, and other disciplinary
incidents.

The presence of school-based mental health providers doesn't just improve
outcomes for students but also improves overall school safety.

The Counseling Not Criminalization In Schools Act is an important step
towards shifting resources away from practices that harm and push kids out
of school into what helps students thrive, keeps schools safe, and ends
the criminalization of kids in schools. Support and protect children and
future students by backing this important legislation. 

Thanks for all you do, 

--Kelsey, Diarra, Beatriz, Monifa, Kristin, and the whole MomsRising.org &
MamásConPoder Team

P.S.– [ [link removed] ]Do you have a moment to tell Congress to invest in public safety
and pass the People’s Response Act

References: 
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