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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Building on Potential: Next steps to improve educational outcomes for students in foster care

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Spotlight

AFC’s Fiscal Year 2024 City Budget Priorities
March 2023 | Click on the links below to learn more about each of AFC's advocacy priorities [PDF] for the Fiscal Year 2024 City budget. At a time when New York City is receiving an increase in education funding from New York State and continues to have unspent federal COVID-19 relief funding, schools should receive additional... Continue reading

New Data Show Thousands of Preschoolers with Disabilities Did Not Receive Needed Services
03.21.2023 | Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) released the following statement in response to the release of the New York City Department of Education (DOE)’s preschool special education data report for the 2021–22 school year:Today, the DOE posted new data showing that 37% of preschoolers with disabilities—a total 9,800 children—did not... Continue reading

Newly Released Data Show Troubling Gaps for Students Needing Bilingual Special Education Services
03.20.2023 | Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) issued the following statement in response to the release of the New York City Department of Education (DOE)’s special education data report for the 2021–22 school year: While the DOE has made notable progress over the past five years towards ensuring that school-aged students with... Continue reading

AFC Testifies on the Fiscal Year 2024 Preliminary Education Budget
03.15.2023 |  Today, AFC testified before the City Council Committee on Education regarding the FY 24 preliminary budget, urging the City to extend funding for education initiatives left out of the preliminary budget and invest in initiatives to support the students with the greatest needs. Read our testimony [PDF] Continue reading

AFC in the News

NYC Mayor Adams shouldn’t let programs for migrant students, mental health expire, advocates say
03.22.2023 | NY Daily News | Mayor Adams shouldn’t let school programs that help tens of thousands of students expire this year, says a coalition of education advocates, attorneys and other services providers. “With the pandemic having exacerbated the need for mental health support for students and with the increase in newly arrived immigrant... Continue reading

NYC’s Summer Rising program gets admissions overhaul
03.22.2023 | Chalkbeat NY | Randi Levine, policy director for Advocates for Children, said her group was happy about the end of the first come, first served enrollment process. She said many families who “needed more support to apply” didn’t get spots, including the very people who were supposed to be prioritized, such as children in shelters.... Continue reading

64% of NYC’s bilingual special education students didn’t get all of their services last year
03.20.2023 | Chalkbeat NY | Still, advocates argue that families aren’t to blame if nearby schools can’t provide bilingual special education support, noting that traveling long distances to secure services may not be tenable for younger children, and the city’s yellow bus system is notoriously unreliable. Plus, some families simply aren’t offered... Continue reading

How NYC’s school bus delays help drive chronic absenteeism and missed learning for students with disabilities
03.15.2023 | Chalkbeat NY | The city says that if a student is absent or late due to a transportation issue, their absence is coded differently in the attendance system to ensure students are not penalized. But absences due to busing issues are still included in citywide chronic absenteeism rates — and the children still miss out on hours worth of... Continue reading