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
Advocates Call on Governor Cuomo to Ensure Schools Get Their Full COVID-19 Federal Relief Funding
03.03.2021 | This week, Advocates for Children of New York joined more than 75 organizations to call on Governor Cuomo to ensure that schools get their full COVID-19 federal relief funding and that federal funding supplements, and does not supplant, state funding. The current Executive budget proposal would cut more than $700 million in state... Continue reading
AFC Statement on Chancellor Carranza’s Departure and Meisha Porter’s Appointment
02.26.2021 | Today, Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the announcement that Chancellor Carranza would be stepping down from his position: We thank Chancellor Carranza for his three years of dedicated leadership and hard work on behalf of New York City... Continue reading
AFC Testifies on 2021-2022 State Budget Proposal
02.25.2021 | Today, AFC is submitting testimony for the New York State Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the 2021-2022 Executive Budget Health Proposal urging the Legislature to reject proposals to cut state funding for the Early Intervention (EI) program by limiting the services children can receive and, instead, invest more in EI by asking... Continue reading
AFC Testifies on Proposed School Safety Bill Package
02.18.2021 | Today, AFC is testifying before the New York City Council Committee on Education in response to the school safety bills in support of proposed legislation regulating the New York City Police Department’s response to students in emotional crisis within public schools, significantly limiting the use of handcuffs on students in emotional... Continue reading
AFC in the News
NYC Schools Get First Black Female Chancellor as Carranza Abruptly Resigns During Ongoing COVID Crisis
02.26.2021 | The 74 | Advocates for Children Executive Director Kim Sweet also thanked Carranza for his service “especially in the face of unprecedented challenges this past year” and congratulated Porter “on her historic appointment.” “She definitely has her work cut out for her,” Sweet said. “At this critical moment, NYC needs an ambitious... Continue reading
NYC’s free pandemic child care program promised to prioritize students with disabilities. Why were so many turned away?
02.25.2021 | Those changes are a “very big deal,” said Maggie Moroff, a special education policy expert at Advocates for Children, which has handled at least a dozen cases of students being denied access to the program. “It was very unclear what the process was in the beginning.” Crucially, the new guidance says the city will provide... Continue reading
NY education officials propose removing Regents exams from graduation requirements
02.23.2021 | Chalkbeat NY | Ashley Grant, director of the Postsecondary Readiness Project at the nonprofit Advocates for Children, supported the decision to remove the Regents from graduation requirements. “This is great news and will allow teachers and students to focus on the work of teaching and learning, confident that students who meet... Continue reading
NYC Education Dept. illegally delayed private school tuition reimbursements for disabled students amid pandemic, judge rules
02.23.2021 | NY Daily News | The city Education Department illegally held up court-ordered tuition reimbursement payments for families of private school students with disabilities during the pandemic, a Manhattan federal judge ruled. One high school student with multiple disabilities was forced to temporarily drop out of her court-approved... Continue reading