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Julian’s Story
Julian is a 3-year-old preschooler with delays in his language skills, but the DOE failed to provide recommended services.
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06.21.2023 | Today, AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Education in support of Intro. 857, to expand the NYC Department of Education’s data reporting requirements to include metrics on students in foster care, and Intro. 121, to require the DOE to report annually on...
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06.20.2023 | Today, Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) released a new brief, Rising Enrollment, Shrinking Support: The Urgent Need to Protect Programs for Immigrant Students Amidst Funding Threats. The brief shows the urgent need to reject proposed cuts and provide targeted investments to...
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Resource: Rising Enrollment, Shrinking Support
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06.13.2023 | Today, AFC is testifying before the New York City Council Committee on Immigration and Committee on Women and Gender Equity regarding early childhood education, calling on the City to extend funding for Promise NYC in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget. Read our testimony [PDF]
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05.04.2023 | ProPublica | “It’s mind-boggling,” said Dawn Yuster, who directs the School Justice Project at the group Advocates for Children. “This would expedite care for young people with the most significant needs. If you’re going to say it, fund it.” When school staff don’t get the...
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05.08.2023 | News 12 | Child care advocates are demanding a $20 million investment into the city’s Promise NYC program. They say that amount is just a drop in the bucket for the city, but a game changer for undocumented families and their children. Watch video
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05.08.2023 | NY1 | "Promise NYC les da la oportunidad a las familias de niños indocumentados que han sido excluidos de programas de cuidado y educación infantil como los programas 'early learn', 3K y preK", dijo Betty Melo, de Advocates for Children NYC. "Les da la oportunidad de asistir a...
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05.18.2023 | Chalkbeat NY | “That is the exact problem that Promise NYC was trying to resolve,” said Betty Baez Melo, director of the Early Childhood Education Project at Advocates for Children New York. Three and 4-year-old children can attend many of the city’s free preschool programs,...
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05.22.2023 | News 12 | "The city has decided not to move forward with the planned expansion of 3-K. We think it's important for children who need early child education get a seat and it includes those with disabilities,” said Randi Levine, policy director for Advocates for Children of New...
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05.23.2023 | amNY | Randi Levine, policy director of Advocates for Children of New York, highlighted inequities that cuts to the education budget would deepen: access to expedited mental health care for students at dozens of high-need schools, funding for immigrant family communication and outreach...
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06.06.2023 | Gothamist | The education department released the data following a new analysis from Advocates for Children of New York that found similar problems in the 2021-2 school year. That year, the analysis found, 9,800 preschoolers did not receive legally required services. The advocacy group...
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Blog: NYC failed to provide full services to 9,800 preschool children with disabilities last year: report06.06.2023 | Chalkbeat NY | More than one-third of New York City’s preschool children with disabilities did not receive all of the extra support they’re entitled to in the last school year, according to a report released Tuesday morning. The report, by advocacy organization Advocates for...
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06.06.2023 | NY1 | “The failure to provide these mandated services to these children is really a systemic violation of their legal rights. And unfortunately, we just know that the problem persists this year,” Betty Baez-Melo director of the early childhood education project at Advocates for...
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Blog: NYC failing to provide legally required services to thousands of preschoolers with disabilities06.06.2023 | NY Daily News | Close to 37% of preschoolers with disabilities went all of last year without receiving at least one mandated service, such as speech or physical therapy, according to a new analysis of education department data released Tuesday by Advocates for Children. The shortfall...
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06.06.2023 | News 12 | Advocates for Children of New York released this report on Tuesday. Services that weren’t provided to those 9,800 pre-K students include speech, occupational therapy and physical therapy, despite students being recommended for these resources. The advocacy group...
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06.07.2023 | The 74 Million | “The reality is that people have been waiting for years to get the orders to get the services their children need,” says Rebecca Shore, director of litigation at Advocates for Children. “It’s not an issue of resources being available. It’s an issue of kids getting the...
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06.06.2023 | Today, Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) released a new data analysis, Falling Short: NYC’s Failure to Provide Mandated Services for Preschoolers with Disabilities, showing that 37% of all preschoolers with disabilities—a total 9,800 children—went the entire 2021–22 school year...
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Resource: Falling Short
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02.08.2023 | AFC is testifying at the New York State Joint Legislative Hearing on the 2023-2024 Elementary and Secondary Education Budget proposal, supporting the historic increase in Foundation Aid and urging legislators to work with the Governor to modify the budget proposal including by...
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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....