facebooktwitterinstagramyoutube

Need Help?

Call AFC's Education Helpline
(866) 427-6033
Monday to Thursday
10 am to 4 pm 

Resource library: View AFC's guidebooks, fact sheets, and more

Julian’s Story

Julian is a 3-year-old preschooler with delays in his language skills, but the DOE failed to provide recommended services.

Sign up

Receive email updates or text alerts from AFC.

  • Blog: Five Months Ago, a Brooklyn Mom Filed a Due Process Complaint for Her Autistic Son.
    04.27.2020 | The 74 | Low-income families, in particular, are “severely impacted” by complaint delays like those in New York City because they “have to wait for the hearing … in order to get the services” rather than paying out of pocket and requesting reimbursement, as more well-off families...
  • Blog: It’s official: NYC relaxes grading policies in wake of massive shift to remote learning
    04.28.2020 | Chalkbeat NY | Advocates for Children, which provides legal and other services to families navigating the school system, said it’s most likely that the students marked as needing improvement are those who are already struggling and are lacking the same level of support, such as...
  • Blog: How should NYC grade students during coronavirus pandemic? City, advocates clash over expected policy
    04.24.2020 | Chalkbeat NY | But parent leaders and other advocates are already pushing back, saying the policy under consideration, which continues with letter grades in high school, does not go far enough to address the challenges posed by an unprecedented public health crisis.“To adhere to...
  • Blog: NYC should pass all students amid coronavirus shutdown, advocates demand
    04.25.2020 | NY Post | All high school seniors should graduate, all middle school students should receive full credit, elementary schoolers should get no grades and everyone should be promoted, demand 37 education advocates led by City Councilman Mark Treyger.“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the...
  • Page: Special Events
    Special Events2020 Spring BenefitIf you have any questions about special events, please contact Ivette Greenblatt at igreenblatt@advocatesforchildren.org or (212) 822-9529. 
  • Page: Past Events
    Past Events2019 Spring BenefitLeft: Anne M. Finucane, 2019 recipient of the Jill Chaifetz Award, and Tayloni Mazyck, 2019 recipient of the Education Champion Award, with AFC Board President Eric Grossman and Executive Director Kim Sweet.  Right: Tayloni with her family.  Photos...
  • Page: Relief and Recovery Fund
    To protect the health of our supporters, advocacy partners, and staff, AFC has canceled our Spring Benefit, but we still need your support so we can fight for New York’s families now and in the difficult year ahead. That is why our annual Fund-a-Need initiative, typically introduced at our Spring...
  • Blog: NYC educators brace for student mental health challenges after coronavirus lockdown on classes ends
    04.20.2020 | NY Daily News | “We have to do things differently," said Dawn Yuster, the director of the School Justice Project at Advocates for Children, one of dozens of organizations that sent a letter Friday to the city Education Department sounding the alarm on mental health services.“The...
  • Blog: AFC Opposes Any Waivers to the IDEA or the Rehabilitation Act
    04.03.2020 | Advocates for Children of New York wrote to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos indicating our strong opposition to any waivers to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security...
  • Blog: AFC Calls for Funding a Mental Health Continuum for Students with Significant Mental Health Needs
    04.17.2020 | Today, Advocates for Children joined 40 other organizations in calling on Mayor de Blasio to prioritize and fund necessary mental health services for all students. Along with our co-signers, AFC is concerned about the physical, mental, and economic toll COVID-19 is taking on our...
  • Blog: NYC school budgets take a hit as de Blasio proposes $827 million in education cuts
    04.16.2020 | Chalkbeat NY | Kim Sweet, executive director of Advocates for Children of New York, said the proposed budget cuts would likely worsen existing inequities and exacerbate the challenges schools and students are now facing.“New York City students will need additional academic and social-...
  • Blog: Coronavirus Takes $6 Billion Bite Out Of NYC's Budget
    04.16.2020 | Gothamist | “Even in our darkest days, we have to continue to invest in the future, and our schools are our best hope,” Kim Sweet, executive director of Advocates for Children of New York, said in a statement on the executive budget. “That is absolutely key to full recovery.”Sweet...
  • Blog: Citing low enrollment, NYC will close 23 child care centers for ‘essential’ workers
    03.27.2020 | Chalkbeat NY | Advocates have called on the city to offer care to a broader range of students, especially those who are experiencing homelessness, and continued to do so Friday.“We continue to urge the city to deliver on its promise to support ‘our most vulnerable student populations’...
  • Blog: Los que no hablan inglés se llevan la peor parte por cierre de escuelas por coronavirus en NYC
    04.15.2020 | El Diario | Entre tanto, la activista Rita Rodríguez-Engberg, directora del Proyecto de Derechos de los Estudiantes Inmigrantes, indicó que el DOE debe darle prioridad a esos estudiantes que ya estaban en desventaja, y que tienen problemas de aprendizaje, incluyendo a los que están...
  • Blog: Education Advocates Disappointed By Cuts To Fair Student Funding
    04.08.2020 | Politico NY | Randi Levine, policy director for Advocates for Children of New York, called the cuts "devastating" and wants the city and the City Council to ensure the 3K expansion continues. “We know that high-quality early childhood education programs make a significant difference...
  • Blog: Advocacy groups urge NYC Education Dept. to include homeless students in childcare at ‘resource centers’
    03.20.20 | NY Daily News | “Families who are homeless may have multiple children of varying ages, grade levels, and learning needs confined to a single small room,” the groups wrote. “Every day that goes by where children are not receiving educational services is an opportunity missed,” said...
  • Blog: Will COVID-19 worsen inequality in New York City?
    03.20.2020 | News Decoder | With New York’s public schools shut down until at least late April, the pandemic risks exacerbating class disparities among the young. Students from wealthier families can learn via video conferencing technology and resort to private tutors, while such costly options are...
  • Blog: NYC foster care groups plead for school bus guarantee for kids who can’t get to class
    03.09.2020 | NY Daily News | “Last school year, more than one in four students in New York City had to change schools after entering foster care,” advocates said in a letter Friday to various city agencies, including the Administration for Children’s Services and the Education Department, noting...
  • Blog: As Special Ed Complaints Mount, NY Seeks More Presiding Officers
    03.03.2020 | The CITY | “While we agree that the extreme delays prohibiting the timely resolution of our clients’ claims must be addressed with urgency, we nevertheless fear that adopting an emergency regulation that would allow non-attorneys to serve as [hearing officers]—even as a stopgap...
  • Blog: Pre-K For Most, But Not For All: A Mom Battles for Her Special Needs Child
    03.10.2020 | NY City Lens | This year, more than 1,900 preschoolers with special needs were left behind, without a spot in a special needs classroom, according to a January 2020 report by Advocates for Children. More than 40 percent of those students live in the Bronx, a borough historically marked...