Mamdani proposes massive cut in NYC school safety agents despite spike in felony assaults

The staffing reduction was included in the mayor’s preliminary budget and was highlighted on Monday during a Fiscal Year 2027 hearing by New York City Council Education Chair Eric Dinowitz.

“The DOE savings plan calls for a vacancy reduction of 264 school safety agents, meaning that schools would not be able to fully staff SSAs if desired,” Dinowitz said during the hearing.

Speaking to the New York Post, Dinowitz said, “Currently, having just one School Safety Agent for every thousand students is not uncommon. Students are routinely late to class because of delays at scanners, and there are not enough SSAs who speak the languages of the students and families they serve.”

School safety agents are civilian employees of the NYPD who work inside public schools. Their duties include monitoring school entrances, helping enforce school safety policies, preventing weapons and drugs from entering grounds, and responding to fights.

The proposed reduction comes as felony assaults in New York City schools have increased by 5 percent in the first half of this year. Nearly 20 weapons-related arrests involving individuals under the age of 21 have occurred, the majority being for knife possession.

At the same time, school suspensions have declined, falling 8.3 percent between July and December 2025 compared to the same period one year prior. State officials have attributed the decline to the use of restorative justice programs, which seek to address misconduct of violent students through conflict-resolution with their victims and teachers instead of stricter punishment.

Concerns have been raised over the proposed cuts, with one Queens parent telling the Post, “This makes me feel very uneasy for my child’s safety, if the number of safety agents are cut, who would their responsibilities fall upon? The admin? Staff? They already have their hands full.”