‘Avonte’s Law,’ to alarm NYC school doors, passes City Council
Named for student Avonte Oquendo
After several highly publicized incidents where children slipped unnoticed out of school buildings, the New York City Council passed legislation on Thursday to install door alarms in public schools.
“Avonte’s Law” — named for Avonte Oquendo, an autistic teenager who died in October after slipping through an unattended exit door in Queens – would require the city and NYPD to study and prioritize the installation of exterior door alarms in school buildings.
In an incident in Brooklyn, 4-year-old Symier Talley-Jasper walked out of Bed-Stuy’s P.S. 59 on a 12-degree day in January and wandered home without a coat.