On this episode of Beyond the Bell, Moira Kaleida from The Alliance to Reclaim our Schools and Kyle Serette from the National Education Association- the largest union in the country- have come together to defend public education from school closures and defunding- building a national movement of educators, youth and caregiver organizers and allies. What does it look like when the labor sector unites with the education justice sector to stop school closures and privatization and address the widespread defunding of the public safety net across IDEA disability funding, SNAP benefits, and more?

On this episode of Beyond the Bell, Jenny Arwarde and Meyiya Coleman from Communities United and VOYCE tell us about the work they did to center youth voices in designing and implementing the Whole School Safety Framework, which was embraced by Chicago Public Schools, ultimately removing police from schools and building a holistic safety and healing framework that recognizes organizing as a healing and transformative practice, while empowering young people to design the systems transformations they want to see across systems and communities in education, public safety, health, and more.

Host Manuela Arciniegas (Communities for Just Schools Fund) sits down with Joseph Williams, executive director of Students Deserve, and youth organizer/scholar Kahlila Williams, to spotlight how Black, queer, and immigrant students in Los Angeles are organizing for real safety and belonging. From defunding school police and defending the Black Student Achievement Plan to winning investment in LGBTQIA+ studies and Dream Centers, and building community self-defense against ICE: This debut episode traces the strategies, coalitions, and abolitionist vision powering youth-led education justice in 2025. A moving conversation about transforming schools from sites of control into places of care, dignity, and love, led by the young people living it.