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
06.27.2019 | 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 a letter [PDF] and flyer [PDF] to families reiterating this commitment. Both documents are... Read more
Response to Release of NYC School Discipline Package
06.20.2019 | Today, Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to Mayor de Blasio’s release of a school discipline package: Today, the City is taking some very important steps to support the social and emotional needs of students and keep them in school. Day after day... Read more
AFC Response to Adoption of City Budget
06.19.2019 | Today, Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the New York City Council’s vote to adopt the Fiscal Year 2020 city budget: The budget adopted today takes important steps forward for our City’s students — increasing the number of school social workers... Read more
Response to Increased Funding for School Social Workers
06.14.2019 | Today, Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the agreement announced between Mayor de Blasio and the New York City Council to fund 216 new school social workers: By adding more than 200 school social workers, the City is taking an important step to... Read more
AFC in the News
Only nine hearing officers for 9,695 special education cases
07.09.2019 | THE CITY | Representatives for the DOE also lack the authority to determine when a case should be settled rather than litigated. That setup leads to few quick resolutions, even when both sides agree, said Rebecca Shore of Advocates for Children, which works on behalf of at-risk kids. “I didn’t see any real plan that was going to... Read more
NYC vows to address special education failures detailed in state review. But will their reforms go far enough?
07.09.2019 | Chalkbeat New York | “These children only have one shot at education; whether we get it right or wrong today impacts their life chances,” said Randi Levine, the policy director at Advocates for Children, an organization that works with special needs families. The state’s initial report, known as a “Compliance Assurance Plan,”... Read more
More than 200 kids are still waiting for special ed pre-K seats
06.25.2019 | Brooklyn Daily Eagle | New York City is in need of more than 400 special education preschool seats as of May 29, according to a recently re-released New York State Education Department memo. While the city’s newest budget agreement allots for an additional 200 seats in September, the coming closures of two programs will cancel out... Read more
NYC leaders say a new budget puts them on the ‘path’ to closing the pre-K pay gap. But it’s not a done deal.
06.14.2019 | Chalkbeat New York | Eighty-five of the new social workers will work at high-needs middle schools as part of First Lady Chirlane McCray’s mental health initiative, ThriveNYC, officials said. At least 31 “Bridging the Gap” social workers will be added specifically for schools with higher concentrations of students in temporary housing... Read more