CTCAV Newsletter

Welcome to the Cancel the Contract October 30 Newsletter, read about LA’s new bail policy below, and all of the Education Justice events happening in the AV. 

The next CTC Coalition Meeting will be Monday November 27, stay tuned for registration and agenda. 

Info to Freedom Art Squad Director Saidah Grey ( purpose, goals  and upcoming details) 

@saidah 

Recent Events 

On Friday Oct. 20th, 2023 The CTC Youth Squad hosted a Youth Karaoke Night for the Teens and tweens of Antelope Valley. One of the number one complaints of youth is not having anything to do in the AV. We are creating a space for kids to relax and get away from home. The event was a success leading to the planning and development of another event themed around costumes that we had on the 27th of October. For future events the youth squad will focus on letting kids know their rights and building up a youth squad lead podcast.

Selena Coleman CTC  , Ayinde Love Sanctuary of Hope, Raquel Derfler CTC

Student Know Your Rights Workshop – October 25, 2023

On Wednesday October 25 CTC in collaboration with Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles, Disability Rights California, and California Rural Legal Assistance hosted a hybrid know-your-rights presentation for parents and youth advocates. We shared with folks the rights students have when their school recommends them for expulsion. The evening included a slide presentation after which attendees worked together to work through a hypothetical situation of a student being expelled from school using the information they learned.The event  was well received and participants were appreciative of the knowledge they gained . One stated that “It was the best training he had ever attended.” and another shared “Wow, that was so powerful. I would recommend this workshop to everyone.”

NLSLA Education Rights Resources

Ralston, Executive Director Project Rebound, Raquel Derfler CTC

Community Policing Conference – October 27, 2023

Romarily

Cancel the Contract attended the Los Angeles County’s Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission’s 3rd Annual Community Policing Conference to discuss Building Community to Advance Public Safety. There were panels throughout the day to discuss how to build trust between the public and law enforcement, diversion rather than arrest, and the school-to-prison pipeline. The day ended with small group discussions about what the participants had learned from the day. The major take away from CTC’s discussion group was that trust cannot be built with LASD  unless they acknowledge their history of harm to communities of color and apologize for that harm. Cancel the Contract was able to share the work we are doing in the Antelope Valley to hold LASD accountable for the violence they are doing to our Black and Brown communities and our efforts to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline to folks from all over Los Angeles County.

Criminal Justice Accountability 

On October 1, 2023, after years of research, the Los Angeles Superior Court implemented a new bail policy, taking an important first step towards promoting public safety—and away from the unfair system in which wealth, not safety, determined whether someone went to jail before trial. Despite claims to the contrary, the new policy is not a radical change. It builds on years of similar practices and research in Los Angeles and across the country—and it preserves significant law enforcement and judicial discretion. 

We have long known that money bail does not keep us safe. It undermines fairness and justice, disproportionately harms Black, Latino, and poor people, and exacerbates cycles of poverty. On any given day, there are more than 6,000 people in our jails—not because they are a danger to the community, but largely because of an inability to pay bail.

Some key points about the new policy (download fact sheet here):

• This policy does not eliminate law enforcement’s discretion to detain people for safety concerns.  
• This policy does not eliminate the money bail system.  
• This policy is not a major change from the bail policies that were previously in place.
• This policy allows people charged with low-level offenses to return home before their first court hearing.
• This policy promotes public safety, while pretrial incarceration often compromises it. 

Sadly, first Palmdale, and now Lancaster joined a lawsuit against LA County attempting to halt this new policy from taking effect. Instead of wasting our resources fighting a good policy that promotes justice, equity, and safety that would have huge benefits for the many poor and working class residents of our region, Palmdale and Lancaster should provide services that help people heal from trauma, get out of poverty, and improve their life circumstances. Our elected officials must rise to their duty as public servants, listen to the evidence, and support policies like this one that truly help their constituents.

City of Lancaster Launches New Police Department 

Do we want to say anything new here?

Los Angeles Civilian Oversight Committee Upcoming Meetings

• Monthly Meeting November 9 , 2023 @ 9:00 am

To attend in person register here : https://www.eventbrite.com/e/commission-meeting-tickets-642459151617

To attend virtually register here :https://lacountyboardofsupervisors.webex.com/webappng/sites/lacountyboardofsupervisors/meeting/register/e7e9f3071e404740a6b5b87380ccfc9c?ticket=4832534b00000006d5416dbeec30b6884da9b9dcf09454443d058ae38554c78c205c8e119f48e938&timestamp=1698369254636&RGID=r74e7c8d0745093ddad684bc9940b61c1

Upcoming CJ Events

@raycine list October “Say their Name victim “

Education Justice 

Discrimination in Discipline Town Hall November 15    

Join CTC and Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County as we discuss the results of a two-year investigation into the Antelope Valley Union High School District authored by Dr. Jaime Hernandez. We will review the chapter of this comprehensive report that discusses the District’s referral of students to law enforcement that disproportionately affects our Black Students and Students With Disabilities . Register Here

IEP Legal Consultations November 15

Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles is providing free IEP consultations for AV families, meet at CTC Offices and please email [email protected] to make an appointment.

AVUHSD Board Meeting November 16 

6:30pm – 8:30pm

Main Board Room

176 Holston Drive 

Lancaster, CA 93535

Join CTC and have your voice heard by addressing the School Board during public comment. This is our opportunity to speak out against the over policing and discrimination in discipline happening to our Black and Brown students in schools.

Winco Boycott and Protest 

Civic Engagement:

Show up, speak out, listen to your elected leaders and neighbors:

• Palmdale City Council Meeting 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month @ 5pm
• Lancaster City Council Meeting 2nd and 4th Tuesday @ 5pm 
• Board of Supervisor Regular Board meeting Tuesdays @ 9am, next 10/17/23

Reports and Information

Closing Section

Please share this newsletter with your networks and follow us on socials. We hope to see you at an upcoming event, and please reach out with any concerns. 

Yours in CommUNITY,

 The CTCAV Team