Cops for a First Grader?: Why NYC Schools Are Still Calling 911 on 6-Year-Olds - Chalkbeat

Cops for a First Grader?: Why NYC Schools Are Still Calling 911 on 6-Year-Olds – Chalkbeat

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More than 2,000 times a year, New York City schools call 911 on students experiencing emotional distress, according to city data analyzed by Chalkbeat.

For Crystal Roach, that chilling reality materialized in April 2026 near the end of her son Zai’s first-grade year. P.S. 11 in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, called a mobile crisis team, which subsequently dialed 911 as Zai experienced a behavioral meltdown.

City regulations dictate that school staff must exhaust all de-escalation methods before resorting to emergency services, reserving 911 for instances where someone faces an imminent risk of serious physical harm. Yet, since the city began tracking these metrics in 2016, schools have deployed 911 more than 5,000 times against children under the age of 10.

These emergency interventions disproportionately impact Black students and children with disabilities. When schools dial emergency services, young students frequently face traumatizing police responses and hours of waiting in crowded emergency rooms without receiving actual behavioral support.

“Calling 911 doesn’t make anything better at school the next day,” Nelson Mar, a senior attorney at Legal Services NYC, told Chalkbeat.

Mar spearheaded the 2013 lawsuit that originally compelled the city to establish formal limits on schools utilizing 911 for behavioral crises. Following that litigation, the New York City Council passed a passed a law requiring police to document prior de-escalation attempts.

Following an investigation by ProPublica and The City Reporter, the New York City Council passed a law requiring police to document whether schools had attempted to de-escalate a crisis, though progress has largely stalled.

Most public schools lack adequate training and staffing to support neurodivergent students or children experiencing severe trauma.

In a March 2026 letter addressed to the Mamdani administration, legal advocates and mental health experts urged municipal leaders to fund specialized behavioral intervention teams across every school district.

Although Roach requested an evaluation for an individualized education program early in the school year, the assessment stalled past legal deadlines. Zai was eventually diagnosed with autism by an independent neurologist, but P.S. 11 did not establish a dedicated behavior plan or assign him a one-on-one paraprofessional.

In an occurrence report filed regarding the April incident, P.S. 11 Principal Abidemi Hope said that the school utilized direct intervention, counseling, and daily check-ins. Hope wrote that Zai’s “behaviors have continued to escalate in both frequency and severity, surpassing the school’s capacity to safely manage them within the general education setting.”

To Roach, the response felt punitive rather than supportive. “He was just seen as a problem child,” she told Chalkbeat.

A data analysis released by the New York City Independent Budget Office revealed that nearly 30% of students classified with emotional disabilities end up segregated into separate District 75 special-education schools, where attendance rates lag and 911 calls occur with even higher frequency.

Zai bolted, grew agitated, and later hurled objects after Principal Hope remained in the room during his consultation with the mobile crisis team. That response prompted the mobile crisis team to trigger emergency services.

VNS Health, the nonprofit agency operating the mobile crisis team, declined to comment to Chalkbeat, citing client privacy rules. Department of Education spokesperson Onika Richards defended the agency’s protocols in an emailed statement.

“Under no circumstance is 911 ever called simply for a student’s behavior — or to cause student arrest or pressure to transfer out of our schools,” Richards told Chalkbeat. “911 is only called as an alternative, when an emotional or behavioral crisis has exceeded the ability of the school staff to address it safely.”

When Roach arrived at the school, she found Zai surrounded by multiple police officers and crisis responders. While he remained unhandcuffed and uninjured, the emotional toll was evident.

“What crime did he commit?” Roach asked Chalkbeat. “I have a 6-year-old child that was treated more like a criminal.”

Following the incident, Mar assisted Roach in transferring Zai to P.S. 20, another Clinton Hill campus equipped with dedicated support structures.

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