Thanks to the efforts of City Councilman David Greenfield and two years of intense lobbying spearheaded by OU Advocacy with an array of partners, New York has become the first city in the country to pass legislation that provides children in non-public schools the same security as their peers in public schools. Councilman Greenfield championed the new provision, known as Introduction 65-A, leading the push until it was signed into law January 5. Once it takes effect April 1, it will provide $19.8 million in city funding in the first year for non-public schools to train and hire unarmed, licensed, private security guards at schools with at least 300 students, with one additional officer per each 500 students. A school with 2,000 students, for example, would be provided with five guards.

Councilman Greenfield called the bill’s passage a historic day for children’s safety in New York. “Our city decided years ago that children deserve to be protected before something happens because they are children,” he said. “All we are doing. . . is extending that same protection to non-public school children. That’s something we should all be proud of.”

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