A message from our allies:
NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATION TO STOP SENDING STUDENTS TO JRC EXPIRES: Will Gov. Cuomo act against JRC?
After budget amendments to stop the use of ‘aversives’ were rejected in Massachusetts, there was hope that two bills filed in New York State – one in the Assembly and one in the Senate – would be signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Unfortunately, although these bills moved quite far (unlike MA bills that are still stuck in the first committee), the NY Legislature ran out of time at the end of the session (June 30th), and the bill did not get to the Governor’s desk. These bills would have prohibited the State of New York from sending children and adolescents to the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC). Currently, more children from NY attend JRC than any other State – a large percentage. And the loss of $250,000 yearly “tuition” (per student; paid for in taxpayer money) would have been a crippling blow to JRC, perhaps leading to its closure.
New York has had a far more progressive history regarding JRC than Massachusetts, and we still hope that Gov. Cuomo will stay true to his progressive reputation and act on his own to stop the horrific abuses occurring at JRC. The UN expert on Torture seems to be aggressively pursuing this issue, and a large rally in protest of JRC and other abusive programs is planned in Albany in August.
We apologize for erroneous posts that said the bills were on the Governor’s desk, and we salute the principled lawmakers in both Massachusetts and New York who supported these bills. This has been an incredible year for our work, and the drumbeat is louder than ever before to stop JRC. And despite these setbacks, we are more powerful and organized than ever. We will take to the streets, all over America and proudly raise our voices to DEMAND an end to torture in the name of ‘treatment’!
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