Advocates for Children of New York works on behalf of children who are at greatest risk for school-based discrimination and/or academic failure due to poverty, disability, race, ethnicity, immigrant or English Language Learner status, sexual orientation, gender identity, homelessness, or involvement in the foster care or juvenile justice systems.
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Spotlight
Know Your Rights: Immigrant Students and Families
Every student in New York City has the right to attend public school, regardless of immigration status. Following recent immigration-related activities by the federal government, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) issued several letters to families reiterating this commitment. The DOE has also provided additional guidance for... Read more
Heading back to school: A message from AFC's Executive Director
09.06.2017 | Tomorrow starts a new school year for most of the 1.1 million students in New York City's public schools. Students will take buses, cars, trains, and ferries to over 1,700 schools scattered throughout the five boroughs. They'll come from homes that speak more than 100 different languages, practice a wide variety of religions,... Read more
Get Ready for Back to School!
08.24.2017 | The first day of school is Thursday, September 7! In preparation, we've updated our back-to-school fact sheet for families of students with disabilities, which covers concerns that typically come up at this time of year, such as what to do if a child does not yet have a school assignment or the school assigned says they cannot serve... Read more
AFC Comments on Charter School Teacher Certification
08.24.2017 | AFC submitted comments on SUNY’s proposed regulations regarding charter school teacher certification. While we believe there is important work to be done across the State to strengthen teacher certification pathways, address shortages of qualified teachers in certain areas, and ensure there is an excellent teacher in every... Read more
AFC in the News
Special education: Political will lacking in Albany to address failings
09.14.2017 | Democrat & Chronicle | If political capital is lacking for funding increases, it is likely due to a series of highly publicized fraud cases in New York City several years ago... "When the (troubling) reports came out about providers stealing funding, we said, 'You need to punish the bad actors, not the preschoolers,'" said Randi... Read more
NYC denies nearly 9,000 kids with disabilities the services they need
09.04.2017 | New York Daily News | The city is illegally denying necessary services to thousands of students with disabilities — and the poorest kids get cheated the most often, according to advocates and data the Daily News obtained. As of May, 8,854 public school students with disabilities were lacking services such as speech therapy, physical... Read more
‘Virtually meaningless’ or ‘steady progress’? New York City reacts to this year’s state test scores
08.22.2017 | Chalkbeat New York | English and math exam pass rates inched up in New York City this year compared to last year — more than they did in the state as a whole, city officials announced Tuesday. The annual release of test scores created a wave of reactions from education stakeholders across the state. Read article Read more
Inclusion in Action: The lawyer, teacher, and organizer Maggie Moroff on the fight to make New York City schools more accessible
07.26.2017 | Guernica | In 1975, Congress enacted what is now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a law granting all children the right to a “free appropriate public education” in the “least restrictive environment.” The statute’s implications are profound: students with a range of disabilities are entitled to specially... Read more