Press Room

As the majority of students continue to receive an all-remote education amid a rise in COVID-19 cases, the New York City Council will vote today on legislation from Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams to track remote learning attendance and assess the effectiveness of the practice for students across the city. It is expected to pass after being voted out of the Committee on Education on Tuesday.

The legislation, Intro 2058-A, would require the Department of Education (DOE) to report on a monthly basis student attendance data during the use of remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Attendance data would be disaggregated by school, school district, grade level, gender, race or ethnicity, individualized education program status, English language learner status, status as a student in temporary housing, and status as a student residing in shelter.

"Monitoring student engagement is an essential way to determine the effectiveness of remote learning- whether fully remote or hybrid, every student will be using remote learning in the coming months," said Public Advocate Williams of the bill. "Tracking student attendance rates allow us to hold the DOE accountable for ensuring our students have the ability to access all of their classes remotely. The money and energy the Administration has spent in rushing to re-open, and then close, in-person classes could have been better spent improving remote learning  and fulfilling our obligation to provide students with safe and equitable education. This bill will help to correct that error and imbalance. I thank Council Member Treyger for his leadership on these issues and Speaker Johnson for making this a priority."

Collecting, categorizing, and making public this attendance information will help to determine whether the Department of Education is equitably and effectively implementing remote learning, particularly for students of greatest need - and hold them accountable for any inadequacies. The information shared will help the DOE tailor their approach to better meet the needs of our students and families and maximize the effectiveness of remote and hybrid learning throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bill will be voted on alongside companion legislation from Council Member Mark Treyger, Intro 2104-A , which would require the DOE to report a breakdown of the number and percentage of students who participated in remote learning and the hybrid mode language access as well as a series of metrics include language accessibility, access to remote learning in juvenile facilities, access to city-issued remote learning devices, and other information.

At a Council hearing held by the Committee on Education at the end of May, the DOE stated that the student engagement rate was about 86%, compared to in-person attendance, which was roughly 93%. That discrepancy was likely due to the fact that many students, especially those in temporary housing, shelters, and foster care, did not receive laptops, tablets, iPads, Chromebooks, or any other devices needed to connect to virtual classroom sessions. Months later, many student engagement issues remain unsolved.

"COVID-19 has impacted every single person in this city, but its impacts have not been evenly felt. Inequities in remote learning mirror inequities in the spread of COVID-19. In order to know how much support is needed for our students and educators, we need data that illustrates the gaps. Additional specific data on remote learning participation is the only effective way to acknowledge the problem and allocate resources where necessary to eliminate gaps of inequity," said Council Member Mark Treyger, Chair of the Committee on Education. "I thank Public Advocate Williams for his partnership and leadership on Intro 2058. I'm proud that this bill is passing today as part of a remote learning transparency package with my Intro 2104."

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams spoke at a City Council hearing of the Committee on Criminal Justice today to repeat his call for an end to solitary confinement in New York City and specifically address Intro. 2173, a bill from Council Member Daniel Dromm that would ban the use of solitary confinement in city jails and of which the Public Advocate is a co-prime sponsor. The Public Advocate applauded the ambition of the legislation and the Council for taking it up, particularly in contradistinction to inaction from Mayor de Blasio on his stated goal of ending the practice, but also highlighted several elements of the bill he hoped to amend.

"Instead of waiting on the Mayor to take definitive action in ending solitary confinement, I along with my colleagues in the City Council are confronting this task head on," said the Public Advocate of the bill. "I want to take some time today to raise the concerns that I and many criminal justice advocates have about the bill in hopes that we can continue to work collaboratively to get this done the right way."

He also discussed provisions related to restrictive housing, allotted time out of one's cell, and emergency lock-ins as elements of the bill that he and many activists believe should be amended prior to passage.

"While the bill prohibits the use of solitary confinement, it states that the practice may be used to de-escalate immediate conflict.., I understand that escalatory incidents may arise where separation may be needed to mitigate the situation. However, there is a difference between separation and isolation... [Isolation] serves no purpose and has a severe negative effect on many people." Public Advocate Williams explained, adding "Advocates have also raised to my office that the definition of each term in the bill is either too vague and/or too specific, such as the definition of restrictive housing... A person can remain in restrictive housing with a review every 15 days. This can basically mean solitary confinement, just by a different name."

The Public Advocate's full statement is below and can be downloaded here. TESTIMONY OF PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS  TO THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE DECEMBER 11, 2020 Good morning, My name is Jumaane D. Williams, and I am the Public Advocate for the City of New York. I would like to thank Chair Powers and the members of the Committee on Criminal Justice for holding this very important, and very timely hearing. I especially want to thank Chair Powers and the Speaker for being so vocal in calling on the Board of Correction to change its standards on punitive segregation and end solitary confinement.  Solitary confinement is torture. Whether we call it restrictive housing, punitive segregation, or separation status, at the end of the day it is a form of torture that causes trauma and long-term mental, physical, and social harm. Needless to say, a ban on this harmful practice is long overdue. At the end of June, the Mayor called for an end to solitary confinement and promised to create a working group that would present a report on how to stop this practice - a  report that was supposed to be released this fall. He also expanded the list of pre-existing conditions that would prohibit inmates from being placed in solitary confinement, so that it now includes asthma, seizure, diabetes, heart disease, physical disabilities, among several others. While this was the right move for the City to make, it is coming very late in the game. Why did the Mayor not expand this list of exceptions years ago? If he had, members of our community like Layleen Polanco - a transgender woman who died while in solitary confinement at Rikers due to an epileptic seizure - would still be alive today. I know her sister, Melania Brown, is with us today, and I thank her for joining us yesterday at an event my office had as well. Second, the Administration needs to update us on the status of this working group that the Mayor planned to put together, and when their report will be released. We need to know their findings and recommendations as to when and how this practice will finally end. Instead of waiting on the Mayor to take definitive action in ending solitary confinement, I along with my colleagues in the City Council are confronting this task head on. Intro 2173 would ban the use of solitary confinement in City jails. As a co-prime sponsor of this bill, I applaud Council Member Dromm for leading this effort. I want to take some notice today to raise the concerns that I and many criminal justice advocates have about the bill in hopes that we can continue to work collaboratively to get this done the right way. While the bill prohibits the use of solitary confinement, it states that the practice may be used to de-escalate immediate conflict, and in said situation, the individual cannot be placed in such confinement for longer than four hours. I understand that escalatory incidents may arise where separation may be needed to mitigate the situation. At the same time, there is a difference between separation and isolation. To isolate an individual is to put them in an environment by themselves. This practice does not serve the purported purpose and has a severe negative effect on many people.  Advocates have also raised to my office that the definition of each term in the bill is either too vague and/or too specific, such as the definition of restrictive housing. As written, the bill allows DOC to define restrictive housing without strict guidelines. A person can remain in restrictive housing with a review every 15 days. This can basically mean solitary confinement, just by a different name. Another concern is the phrasing of emergency lock-in. I am concerned the current definition is not strict enough to ensure all other options have been considered, and there is a periodic, hourly review by the chief of the department if it is used.  I also share the concerns held by many advocates, who I know will be testifying later today, about the out-of-cell time policies established in this bill. The bill mandates that all incarcerated individuals have access to at least 14 hours of time outside of their cells every day, except the individuals placed in restrictive housing and those placed in the aforementioned four-hour solitary confinement to de-escalate immediate conflict. Those individuals would have access to at least 10 hours of time outside of their cells. Activists who have advocated to ban solitary confinement are calling for 14 hours out of cell each day across the board. By only allowing certain individuals to be out of cell for 10 hours, this provision leaves 4 additional hours in which someone can be locked in a cell. Therefore, I tend to be in support of our community advocates' call to change the provision in this bill, to ensure all incarcerated individuals have 14 hours out of their cell every day.  I want to make clear that there are differences between isolation and separation, and also be clear that we understand we have the need for consequences for poor behavior, one of those consequences being separation. But isolation is a punishment that causes a significant, harmful physical and psychological impact on many incarcerated individuals. One example of a non-harmful consequence is the Clinical Alternative to Punitive Segregation unit, also known as CAPS. This program started in 2013 as a new treatment unit developed by the New York City Jail system for individuals with serious mental illness, but I believe this can be expanded to include people with less serious mental illness or no mental illness at all. CAPS was designed to offer a full range of therapeutic activities and interventions for participants, such as individual and group therapy, art therapy, counseling, and community meetings. In fact, this program proved to be more effective in reducing self-harm and injury than restrictive housing. CAPS is just one example of the many programs we need to consider as a consequence for bad behavior, rather than resorting to things like solitary confinement.     The time for New York City to end solitary confinement is now. If the tragic deaths of Layleen Polanco and Kalief Browder tell us anything, it is that this unsafe disciplinary practice is not the answer. This method of punishment does more harm than good, and it does not address the underlying causes of problematic behavior.   I do want to just mention, as my colleague Council Member Dromm did, that this is not only for the people who are housed and incarcerated - it is also for the people who work there, including the men and women of the corrections union. This is the only law enforcement union that is treated in the way that they are, and I believe it is because they are Black and Brown. In the beginning of this pandemic, they were forced to work without PPE and social distancing. I believe that if they were not Black and Brown, primarily women, they would not have been put in this situation. The fact of the matter is Rikers, and many jails across this nation, are set up to continue circles of violence. We want everyone to be safe, including the men and women who go to work, and whose families want them to come home the same way they went to work. We ask them to join us in a conversation where we understand that there has to be separation at times, and there has to be consequences for poor behavior, but not isolation and torture. That we can work together to put in systems that actually change behavior to the type of constructive behavior that we want to see. I thank the Committee on Criminal Justice for giving me this opportunity to speak today.

The New York City Council will vote today on legislation from Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams which would prohibit employers from discriminating against a job applicant or current employee based on pending charges or unsealed violations. The bill is an expansion of Williams' 2015 legislation with Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, the Fair Chance Act, which "Banned the Box" on job applications and prevented the consideration of criminal history in hiring practices prior to a conditional offer of employment.

Intro 1314-A, the Fair Chance Act 2.0, builds upon existing employment protections to include adjournments in contemplation of dismissal (ACDs) and other pending criminal charges. It would also extend existing protections to current employees convicted of a violation after the start of employment. Adverse actions can still be taken if a structured "fair chance" analysis ultimately determines that there is a direct relationship between the job and the pending charge or that employing the worker would involve an unreasonable risk to people or property. The bill is expected to pass overwhelmingly after a unanimous vote through the Committee on Civil and Human Rights on Thursday morning.

"When we banned the box in New York City, it was the strongest such legislation in the country, and created access to employment for thousands of New Yorkers - benefiting applicants and employers alike." said Public Advocate Williams. "Now, amid a public health and economic crisis, we need to go further in removing unnecessary barriers to employment and opening up opportunities closed off by arrest record or criminal history. I thank the committee members for their unanimous vote to advance this legislation, and the Council for their support of its goals ahead of a full vote. The right to a fair chance - often a first chance - is an issue of the justice system, the economy, and economic justice."

While 'innocent until proven guilty' remains a stated central tenet of the legal system, and nearly 80% of New Yorkers charged with a crime are never found guilty, employers can often presume guilt on the basis of an arrest itself. Because current anti-discrimination law protects people with convictions but not people with pending cases, workers are presently economically incentivized to plead guilty.

This economic issue disproportionately impacts people of more color, who are subjected to arrests and presumptions of guilt more than any other population. New York City recorded 806,669 misdemeanor arrests for Black individuals compared to 216,643 white individuals from 2010 to 2017. As the economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on New York City, it is crucial to open access points to employment.

Additionally, The Fair Chance Act 2.0 would help end the employment discrimination faced by transgender women of more color by closing a loophole in the Human Rights Law. Current law prohibits employers from discriminating against people on the basis of a sealed, noncriminal violation - the only charge currently ineligible for sealing is the anti-loitering provision known as the Walking While Trans law. While this law is deeply discriminatory itself, and must ultimately be repealed on a state level, the Fair Chance Act 2.0 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of this offense.

"Today's passing of the Fair Chance Act 2.0 signals the City Council's commitment to decreasing the record unemployment rates caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Melissa S. Ader, Staff Attorney in the Worker Justice Project of The Legal Aid Society. "The Fair Chance Act 2.0 will increase employment opportunities for all New Yorkers, and especially for overpoliced communities of color and transgender women of color. We thank Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Speaker Corey Johnson, and the City Council for standing with New Yorkers, and call on the Mayor to sign this legislation, codifying it into law."

"I want to wish a Happy Hanukkah, Chag Hanukkah Sameach, to all in the Jewish community who begin celebrating this evening. This holiday demonstrates the incredible power of perseverance, faith, and the miracles that those values make possible in our lives.

"Today, many of us in the city and around the world are feeling uncertainty and fear in the face of darkness. It is in these moments that the message of Hanukkah is crucial - a message of light over darkness, liberty over persecution, and the power of miracles in the most desperate times. In our darkest moments, we look for the light, and are sometimes called to create it, to be the beacon for others in need of support. By that light, and the light of the menorah, we can overcome the greatest of challenges, the most daunting of obstacles."

"This year, we cannot gather in person, but we can be united in common spirit to do good for one another. As reflected in the letters on the dreidel, great miracles can happen here - in unity and faith, strength and perseverance, we can make miracles happen in our lives and in our world."

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams called on the incoming Biden-Harris administration to take bold action on a number of priorities for New Yorkers and the nation as the 100-day agenda takes shape ahead of Inauguration Day.  In a letter to the transition, the  Public Advocate highlighted the need for action to extend beyond Washington D.C., asking that the President and Vice President-Elect collaborate with "state and local officials like myself, to create substantive reforms and systems of accountability together."

Among the expansive list of recommendations and requests, Public Advocate Williams proposes the creation of a national Office of the Public Advocate, tasked with requiring additional public awareness and engagement during agency rulemaking processes and using public input to make recommendations on improving agency programming and spending. This follows a plan from Senator Elizabeth Warren to create a similar office.

In addition to this proposal,  the Public Advocate identifies specific requests in the following policy areas:

Expanded Public Engagement

Federal Stimulus for Localities

FEMA AidHealthcare Access

Infrastructure and Transportation

Public Safety and Criminal Justice

Voting Rights

Environmental Justice

Immigration

Education

Access and Equity

Housing Equity

Employment and Opportunity

The full letter to the President and Vice President-Elect is below, and can be downloaded here.

RE: Federal Funding and Legislative Needs 

Dear President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris, Please allow me to first congratulate you on your well-earned victory. Your election has raised the spirits of millions longing for leadership that embodies decency and reason. I look forward to your administration working with Congress, as well as state and local officials like myself, to create substantive reforms and systems of accountability together.  As you know, there are countless issues throughout our nation that are long overdue to be addressed, and I applaud you for focusing the policy efforts of your transition on COVID-19, economic recovery, racial justice, and climate change. In addition to these critical areas, I request that within your first 100 days (and beyond), efforts also be directed toward the following issues that greatly impact millions of New Yorkers:  1. 100%  FEMA Match for Cities and States due to COVID-19 Related Expenditures a) Authorize 100% FEMA match for states and cities, including New York City, due to response and recovery efforts as a result of COVID-19. 2. Improve Awareness of Public Engagement Opportunities in Agency Rulemaking a) Create a national Office of the Public Advocate, with the mission of: 1) requiring additional public awareness and engagement during agency rulemaking processes, and 2) making recommendations to executive branch agencies on improving agency programming and spending, based, in part, on this public input. 3. Federal Stimulus  a) Take immediate legal action, as President-Elect, to block Treasury Secretary Mnuchin's transfer of $455 billion in unspent CARES Act funds, and support the Heroes Act, which would provide states and cities with additional support. Approximately 50% of black-owned small businesses nationwide have closed, since March, 2020, due to COVID-19, according to the New York Federal Reserve; b) Increase funds allocated to states, including New York State, to support Americans suffering unemployment due to COVID-19. Second, incentivize states in high-cost areas to increase weekly payment amounts; typical payments in these areas don't meet cost of living need; 4. Health a) Fully utilize the Defense Production Act to ensure that all hospitals, health clinics, and nursing homes have at least a three month supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). b) Promote the partial replacement of N-95s with durable and sustainable reusable PPE for our frontline health care workers in city and state-level procurement initiatives. c) Establish a manufacturing PPE resiliency project, to determine ways that NYS and NYC-based manufacturing, linked with academic institutions for technical assistance, might encourage the manufacturing of N-95s, elastomeric respirators, PAPRs, and other PPE. 1. Support repeal of the Hyde Amendment. 2. Support and pass H.R. 6142 and S. 3424, the Black Maternal Health omnibus. 5. Infrastructure & Transportation a) Restore full funding to the Gateway Program to what was proposed in 2017 appropriations legislation ($900 million).  b) Allocate additional funds to New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, in order to help it remain solvent through 2021.  c) Streamline the process of allowing cities to implement congestion pricing without years-long delays. 6. Immigration a) Restore DACA operations and provide a pathway to citizenship. b) Increase U-Visas for domestic violence survivors and victims of crime. c) Rescind Safe Third Country agreements. 7. Housing a) Increase Section 8 voucher allowances. b) Provide emergency rental assistance and an extension of the federal eviction moratorium. Where viable, allow cities maximum authority to administer.  c) Allocate maximum financial support for public housing across the country, including the New York City Housing Authority ("NYCHA"). In New York City, NYCHA developments have long-standing, needed repairs and renovations. Additionally, our team would like to tour several local developments with your HUD officials.  d) Increase federal first home buyers grants, including low-income co-ops, from $10,000 to $15,000, and lower credit score requirements to 600. e) Preserve the National Housing Trust Fund (HTF), which the Senate recently termed "duplicative." f) Increase federal funding for the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program and the Continuum of Care (CoC) program. 8. Criminal Justice a) Optically, reframe the conversation from simply "policing reforms" to redefining public safety. b) Equitably legalize marijuana, ensuring that criminal records for recreational use or possession are expunged, and that communities most severely impacted by drug laws are prioritized for licensing and related federal funding. c) Support the examination and implementation of equitable reparations. d) Support repeal of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 ("Crime Bill"), including abolishing mandatory minimum sentencing. Sections related to Violence Against Women and the Assault Weapons ban should remain intact.  e) Expand on the success of the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program, by reinstating Pell Grant funding to prisons nationwide. States will likely follow suit. f) Support and pass H.R.7120, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020. g) Support  legislation to prohibit law enforcement's use of chokeholds. h) Support legislation to prohibit law enforcement's use of "no knock raids". i) Formalize and incorporate recommendations made by President Obama's 21st Century Policing Task Force including, but not limited to:  1. Scientifically supported identification procedures;   2. Reformed mass demonstration policies; 3. Eliminate/ban quotas for "tickets for revenue"; 4. Establish National Register of Decertified Officers; 5. Required officer identification and reason for stops;  6. Prohibit profiling and discrimination, in particular, as it relates to LGBT and gender nonconforming populations. 9. Voting Rights a) Support and pass legislation strengthening the Voting Rights Act. b) Support and pass H.R. 1 to modernize, simplify, and expand voting access for all Americans. 10. Environment a) Reverse regulatory rollbacks and restore federal protections, including the Clean Water Rule and the National Environmental Policy Act. b) Reverse the U.S. Department of Energy's  not "inconsistent with the public interest" statutory test in approval of LNG export permits.  c) Mandate all new federal vehicles purchased to be electric vehicles. d) Streamline federal approval processes to facilitate the development of new renewable energy projects. e) Grant more Bureau of Energy Management leases for offshore wind. f) Support and advance the framework of the Green New Deal. 11. Education a) Invest additional funds for Title 1 schools.  b) Reimburse school districts for technology costs. For example, New York City Department of Education spent $330 million on providing remote devices to all students. c) Incentivize cities and states to establish and fund 3-K and Pre-K programs, to improve educational outcomes particularly for under resourced communities.  d) Ensure adequate federal funds so that every school in New York City (and across the country) hires at least one counselor. e) Reinstitute discipline guidelines, meant to reduce suspensions of students of color. 12. Jobs a) Restore $30 million in Learn to Work funds.  b) Expand the $1.4 million Restaurant Revitalization Program, which subsidizes the wages of workers in restaurants in immigrant neighborhoods. Provide additional funding to MWBEs across New York City.  I'd love my team to connect with yours on this list; we've also shared it with the Mayor's office and with our Congressional delegation. Certain items will require additional information, which we're happy to provide. Your team can follow up with First Deputy Public Advocate Nick E. Smith, at nsmith@advocate.nyc.gov. I look forward to hearing back. Thank you. Sincerely, Jumaane D. Williams Public Advocate for the City of New York

"The framework that the Mayor is now pursuing to re-open schools includes many elements that I and others have said for many months would be essential for a re-opening that is guided by science and framed in justice and equity. A phased-in approach beginning with younger students and students most in need, paired with a large increase in testing has always been essential to the goal we share of safely returning students to the classroom- but we can neither prioritize a schedule over safety, nor wait for the Mayor to come to the right conclusions at the wrong moments in time. As a second wave rises and much remains unknown about the specifics and scope of this re-opening, I would seek clarity and urge caution. 

"With cases and uncertainty rising, this is not the time to overextend our resources and expand risk. I do not want the city to go too far, too fast, and potentially lead to further spread of the virus and further trauma-inflicting changes to the system. As testing increases, so too must transparency about how localized data and trends inform both this framework and its inevitable updates. Students, parents, teachers and administrators need clear guidance, increased resources, and tenable plans that they have too often been denied. This includes the hundreds of thousands of students who will remain fully remote, and still need more information and resources. A safe, equitable, effective education should be the right of all of New York City's students, regardless of whether they are comfortable or able to return to school buildings."