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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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02.03.2015 | Today, AFC is testifying in Albany about the proposed state education budget. We urge the Legislature to: Increase funding for Pre-K statewide and support New York City’s plan to make Pre-K truly universal; Increase funding for Career and Technical Education (CTE); ...
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02.12.2015 | Today, Advocates for Children of New York releases a report, Civil Rights Suspended: An Analysis of New York City Charter School Discipline Policies [PDF], with key findings that we have made after reviewing 164 New York City charter school discipline policies obtained...
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02.25.2015 | Today AFC Project Director Abja Midha (second from left) testified at the New York City Council Committee on Education hearing on English Language Learners (ELLs). In our testimony, we raised concerns about the shortage of bilingual program options for ELLs, particularly in languages...
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02.27.2015 | Today, AFC is testifying at the New York City Council Committee on General Welfare hearing on interagency collaboration between the Administration for Children's Services (ACS) and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) to protect children in temporary housing. We urge ACS and DHS...
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03.02.2015 | Today AFC will be testifying at the DOE Office of Safety and Youth Development hearing on the draft school discipline code for 2014-2015. AFC is a member of the Dignity in Schools Campaign New York (DSC-NY) and supports DSC’s goals of mandating guidance interventions prior to resorting...
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03.03.2015 | Today, AFC is testifying before the City Council Education Committee about the problem of overcrowding in schools and about the charter school cap. We believe it is premature to raise the cap on the number of charter schools before putting laws and practices in place that protect...
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03.05.2015 | Families wanting to apply to charter schools for the 2015-16 school year must submit their applications by April 1st. Here are 7 things you should know about the charter school admissions process.Families have to apply to any charter school that they want their children to attend....
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03.30.2015 | Today, AFC submitted testimony to the City Council Education Committee on resolutions regarding school funding, the charter school cap, and parents’ ability to opt out of standardized tests. View testimony [PDF]
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04.14.2015 | Today AFC is testifying before the New York City Council Committee on Public Safety, the Committee on Education, and the Sub-Committee on Non-Public Schools regarding school climate and discipline. AFC supports the passage of both Introduction Number 730, amending the Student Safety...
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04.24.2015 | The ARISE Coalition (which is coordinated by Advocates for Children), is launching a campaign to improve literacy instruction for students with disabilities. See our Call to Action [PDF] (also available in Spanish [PDF] and Chinese [PDF]) for more details, and visit the...
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05.20.2015 | Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (DPW) announced today a settlement with the New York City Department of Education (DOE) of a long-standing class action lawsuit on behalf of students with disabilities who are subject to disciplinary action...
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06.09.2015 | Today AFC testified before the City Council Committee on Finance to request that the final budget include increased funding for Committee on Special Education staff and increased funding for progressive discipline support. View testimony [PDF]
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06.29.2015 | AFC has a new fact sheet explaining the available appeal options for students whose Regents exam scores are keeping them from graduating from high school. Typically, students must pass five Regents exams, with scores of 65 or higher, in order to graduate. However, in certain cases...
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06.30.2015 | In response to SUNY’s decision to stop authorizing new charter schools unless more funding is available for oversight, Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement: We were glad to see the state’s major charter school...
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07.23.2015 | Today the office of Mayor Bill de Blasio released the Phase I report of the Mayoral Leadership Team on School Climate and Discipline. AFC advocated for the creation of the Leadership Team through our work on the School-Justice Partnership Task Force [PDF], and Executive...
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08.05.2015 | Today AFC and the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) jointly submitted comments in response to the New York City Department of Education's proposal to amend Chancellor's Regulation A-101 relating to student admissions, discharges, and transfers. We believe that there are...
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08.12.2015 | In July 2015, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) changed the structure of the offices that support schools, students, and families. We want to give you information about the new structure and let you know how to get help, especially since one of the DOE’s goals of the new...
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09.02.2015 | The first day of school is Wednesday, September 9! In preparation, we've updated our back-to-school fact sheet for families of students with disabilities, which covers concerns that typically come up at this time of year, such as what to do if a child does not yet have a school...
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09.09.2015 | As the new school year begins, we celebrate the milestone of having a full-day Pre-K seat available for every four-year-old child in New York City for the first time. Research shows that children from low-income backgrounds who participate in high-quality early childhood education...
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09.21.2015 | AFC has created a brand-new fact sheet, Questions & Answers About Literacy [PDF] (also available in Spanish [PDF]), for families of students who are struggling with reading. The fact sheet explains how to get help for your child and some of the services and supports...