Students are not “too cool to swipe,” they are too young to fix broken systems

Twenty years after a historic win granting transit access to Philadelphia students, Philadelphia has a new solution to fare card problems: warnings, police interaction, citations, court referrals, and potentially criminal records for children.

Officials insist the goal is not to criminalize students. The first sentence of the policy says otherwise: not paying for SEPTA is called “FARE EVASION” or “THEFT OF SERVICE” and is “A CRIME.” That is how Philadelphia School District and SEPTA leadership chose to introduce a transportation policy to the parents of children as young as twelve.

For two years, parents at Lift Every Voice Philly and young people at Youth Empowerment for Advancement Hangout (YEAH Philly) have insisted and demonstrated that public systems work better when policies are built with communities, not for them. We learned about the new enforcement policy from the Inquirer two days before it launched.

Every school day, thousands of Philadelphia students board SEPTA buses and trains to get to school. Their rides are funded through tax dollars and reimbursed by the state. SEPTA’s own CFO admitted many students “don’t even realize that they need a card” because they believe the District and SEPTA “have some sort of deal where kids ride free.” He also acknowledged that “program administration became less rigorous,” replacement systems are inconsistent, and some students board believing their ride is covered.

When the students do not understand, it means the program was not implemented with fidelity, and has become a problem for students, families, police, and courts. The language and solutions our leaders are using are steeped in dehumanizing assumptions. Students are not “too cool to swipe,” they are too young to fix broken systems. There is a history lesson here. Municipal governments have turned policing into revenue streams. The details here differ, but the logic is familiar: systems fail, then vulnerable people pay the cost. Philadelphia leaders should know better.

The policy is called a “Diversion Program.” It diverts students toward a summary citation that may require a court date and fines of up to $300 plus fees. We know these types of fees are criminal and not feasible for kids or families in a city where nearly one in four Philadelphians are food insecure and where 30% or one in three of our city’s children experience food insecurity. The FAQ notes — with a candor that borders on the surreal — that neither SEPTA nor the School District has any discretion or control over the handling of a citation once issued. They built the machine and are telling families they cannot turn it off. Students who cannot produce valid school identification risk bypassing warnings entirely and moving directly to citation, expected to prove they belong on transportation already funded through public dollars — that is a double tax.

Without us, our city leaders built a machine that will ensnare children without building systems to support them. Philadelphia students already navigate schedules, portals, attendance systems, bus routes, and school procedures every day. Teaching students to tap a fare card is not the challenge. Building systems that function reliably and communicating expectations before punishment is.

SEPTA says this will not criminalize students. The Superintendent says it will remove barriers to attendance. Yet citations, court appearances, police interactions, fines, and public records are in fact criminal barriers that outlast childhood. What happens when a child runs out of fear of being pursued by an armed SEPTA officer? Why does public awareness come after enforcement? How do we defend taking children to court for less than three dollars?

The people most affected by top-down decisions are often the first to feel their consequences. Too often, institutions– instead of examining themselves– pass the consequences of their own failures onto the people they serve.

We know Philadelphia children are capable of understanding expectations, following systems, and swiping the fare cards needed to maintain SEPTA’s critical function. And we know parents want to help. We see it every day: parents showing up not only to fight for their own children, but for children they will never meet. Young people pushing policies that guarantee their futures when systems have failed on basics like vital documents. We see it citywide in advocacy efforts to increase school funding, even among families and youth with every reason to distrust, resent, or walk away from the very institutions they continue fighting to improve.

Communities have demonstrated, over and over, a willingness to engage, solve problems, and strengthen public systems. The question is whether our institutions are willing to do the same. Public systems work when they are built with communities, not against them. No policy worth implementing should come to families by way of armed police interactions, court dates, fines, or records that outlast childhood. Philadelphia children must not inherit the consequences of $11 million in adult failures. Our children deserve better, and it is the responsibility of adults, institutions, and policymakers to finally deliver it.