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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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06.09.2022 | Today, Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) released a new data analysis, More than Translation: Multi-Faceted Solutions for Communicating with NYC’s Immigrant Families, estimating that more than 329,000 public school students do not have a parent who speaks English fluently and...
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06.24.2022 | Today, Advocates for Children of New York is testifying before the City Council Committee on Education and Committee on Oversight and Investigations regarding our deep concerns about school budget cuts. Read our testimony [PDF]
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10.10.2018 | Today, Advocates for Children of New York is releasing a new data brief entitled Access Denied: School Accessibility in New York City [PDF], which looks at the accessibility of New York City’s 1,800 public schools. The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires the...
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Page: Who We AreWho We AreAt Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), we are dedicated exclusively to protecting every child’s right to an education, focusing on students from low-income backgrounds who are struggling in school or experiencing school discrimination of any kind.For more than 50 years, our staff of...
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Z.Q. v. NYC Department of EducationIn the Z.Q. case, Advocates for Children of New York (“AFC”) and Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP filed a class action complaint in federal court against the New York City Department of Education (“DOE”) and New York State Education Department (“...
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07.18.2022 | NY Daily News | Just 9% of students who started ninth-grade in District 75 went on to receive diplomas within six years, according to the Independent Budget Office. Students in the specialized district were more than 10 times as likely than their peers in traditional schools to be...
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07.17.2022 | NY Daily News | But for thousands of kids with emotional disabilities sent to District 75, it often serves as little more than a holding ground, according to interviews with 10 current and former district families and staffers from multiple schools. “It’s become outrageous what’s...
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Students with DisabilitiesClick on each student's name to read more.Abigail, a student with learning disabilities who needed help getting services during the pandemic.Adrian, a hardworking student who was stuggling with undiagnosed dyslexia.Angenis, a student with dyslexia who was a non-...
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Recent High School GraduatesClick on each student's name to read more.Al-Yasid is a young man on the autism spectrum who graduated from high school in 2013 after years of hard work. He was the 2014 recipient of AFC's Education Champion Award.Angelisa was 18 years old and stuck in the 8th grade...
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Page: Yacine's StoryYacine's StoryAt a family celebration this summer, 13-year-old Yacine’s relatives couldn’t believe how bubbly and social she had become – the same young girl who had been so quiet and reserved just a few years earlier! When Yacine and her mother, Fama, first came to Advocates for...
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Page: Hamza's StoryHamza's StoryCongratulations to Hamza Bani-Hani, a longtime AFC client who not only graduated from high school this June, but was also AFC's Education Champion at our 50th Anniversary Spring Benefit! At the benefit, Hamza shared his story, reflecting on how he used to feel in school: “When I look...
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07.07.2022 | BronxNet | Host Daren Jaime sits down with the Staff Attorney of the Immigrant Students' Rights Project at Advocates for Children, Diana Aragundi speaking about the initiative establishing a permanent, central system for immigrant family communications. Watch video
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07.12.2022 | Politico New York | Randi Levine, policy director for nonprofit Advocates for Children of New York, said the Covid-19 stimulus funding presented an opportunity to invest in some key programs like adding social workers in schools and helping address the shortage of preschool special...
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07.13.2022 | The Imprint | “It’s really important to get these folks in place in time for the beginning of the new school year so that they can begin to support students,” said Erika Palmer, supervising attorney at Advocates for Children. “We don’t want another school year to go forward when...
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07.12.2022 | City & State | As for students with disabilities and those living in temporary housing, transportation remains one of the biggest barriers, according to Randi Levine, policy director at Advocates for Children of New York. Last year, bussing was only offered at the close of the...
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Resource: Appeal Options for Regents ExamsThis fact sheet explains the available appeal options for students whose Regents exam scores are keeping them from graduating from high school.
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07.08.2022 | Today, Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) joined more than 30 organizations to call on the City to honor its commitment to fully staff a DOE team dedicated to meeting the unique educational needs of students in foster care, and to meet its obligation under law to provide busing...
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07.11.2022 | The New York Post | “Last fall, the City announced a first-ever DOE team devoted to meeting the unique needs of students in foster care. However, the DOE delayed posting these positions,” read the letter, co-signed by Advocates for Children and other child welfare and education groups...
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Coalition Activities and Public Comments2022Coalition Submits Comments on Special Appeal to Earn a DiplomaThe Coalition submitted comments to the State Education Department regarding the special appeal to earn diplomas with a lower score on Regents exams taken in the 2021-22 or 2022-23 school year...
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07.05.2022 | NY Post | Advocates on Tuesday continued to monitor how the city would address the unique needs of some students, like children with disabilities or living in homeless shelters. Summer Rising last year was criticized for being inaccessible to those students, which the Adams...