The New York Times | Dawn Yuster, the director of the School Justice Project at Advocates for Children, an education advocacy nonprofit, said she remained particularly worried over the administration’s proposed $5 million in cuts from a mental health initiative at about 50 high-need schools, where rates of police intervention for students in emotional crisis are disproportionately high.

The program gives students access to faster mental health care, linking schools with clinics and providing mobile crisis teams who can help with immediate issues. A mayoral spokeswoman did not immediately return a request for comment on the proposed cut.

Ms. Yuster said she appreciates that breathing exercises and mindfulness can have a “real impact” for students. But she added: “That’s certainly not a replacement for other really critical programs and services that are at risk of being discontinued.”