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
AFC Calls for Busing for Students in Foster Care
11.02.2018 | Today, Advocates for Children, along with more than 30 other organizations, sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio calling on him to provide busing for kindergarten through sixth grade students in foster care. For students who have been separated from their families, school has the potential to be an important stabilizing factor in... Read more
NYC DOE Special Education Data Release Shows Need for Better Service Delivery and Better Data System
11.02.2018 | Today, Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the New York City Department of Education’s annual report of information regarding students receiving special education services pursuant to Local Law 27 of 2015:The data released today showcase the need for... Read more
AFC’s Response to Proposed Increased Investment in School Accessibility
11.01.2018 | Today, Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the release of the New York City Department of Education’s proposed FY 2020-2024 Five-Year Capital Plan:We called for a major investment in school accessibility, and this Administration listened. The... Read more
AFC Testifies on Mental Health in Schools
10.23.2018 | Today, AFC testified before the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Education regarding the current state of health, mental health, and physical education programs, services, and instruction in New York State’s schools. Our testimony discusses the need for the expansion of school-based mental health services and evidence-... Read more
AFC in the News
Opinion: End the School Bus Nightmares for New York Families
11.14.2018 | New York Times | The problems with busing run deep and require bold action. As the city revamps school transportation, it must build a system that works for the students and families it is intended to serve. Read the op-ed by AFC Executive Director Kim Sweet. Read more
New York City students can be suspended for an entire year. Officials say changes could be coming.
11.12.2018 | Chalkbeat New York | After successfully pressing Mayor Bill de Blasio to reduce the overall number of suspensions issued to New York City students, advocates are focusing on a new target: reducing the maximum length of suspensions — which can now last an entire school year... Advocates hope to take advantage of the latest signal... Read more
Why Foster Care Advocates are Pushing the Mayor for School Bus Funding
11.05.2018 | NY1 | Thirty of the city's top foster care agencies and advocacy groups have sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio, asking him to provide school bus service to foster children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Right now, the city simply gets those kids to school by giving them MetroCards or paying for car service, leaving it to the... Read more
In New York City schools, 40,000 students aren’t getting required special education services, report finds
11.02.2018 | Chalkbeat New York | But nearly 40,000 special education students — or 22 percent of all students classified as having disabilities — received only part of the interventions they were entitled to or did not receive any extra support whatsoever. Kim Sweet, executive director of Advocates for Children, a non-profit that works on behalf... Read more