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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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09.29.2015 | Advocates for Children of New York applauds the City Council’s efforts to make New York City a model for the rest of the country in publicly reporting school discipline and police department activity in public schools. The City Council is expected to vote tomorrow to pass...
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10.01.2015 | Today both AFC and the ARISE Coalition, which is coordinated by AFC, are testifying before the City Council Committee on Education about the new DOE structure for supporting schools and families. We are pleased that the new DOE structure includes a Family Support Coordinator in each...
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Blog: Free Event: Expert Panel & Parent Speak Out on Behavior Supports for Students with Disabilities10.26.2015 | On the evening of November 19, the ARISE Coalition (which is coordinated by AFC) and the Mental Health Association of New York City will be co-sponsoring a panel and parent speak out on behavior supports for students with disabilities. Download a larger, PDF version of the flyer in...
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10.30.2015 | Today AFC submitted comments on the New York City Department of Education’s Proposed Community Schools Policy, which we view as an important vehicle for creating shared language and expectations around the City’s Community Schools Initiative. View comments [PDF]
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11.16.2015 | Children born in 2011 are eligible to enter kindergarten in September 2016, and there are steps that families can start taking now to prepare for this important milestone! From November 16th through December 10th, the DOE is holding Kindergarten Orientation Meetings to...
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01.19.2016 | On the evening of February 10, the ARISE Coalition (which is coordinated by AFC) will be sponsoring a panel and parent speak out on assistive technology for students with disabilities. Download a larger, PDF version of the flyer in English and Spanish.
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01.27.2016 | Today, AFC is testifying at the New York State Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the 2016-2017 Elementary and Secondary Education Budget proposal, urging legislators to increase investments in education programs such as Career and Technical Education (CTE), prekindergarten, and...
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03.10.2016 | Today, Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) is releasing a report, A is for All: Meeting the Literacy Needs of Students with and without Disabilities in the New York City Public Schools [PDF], which documents the need for urgent and sustained action to address the particularly...
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03.14.2016 | AFC presented this white paper, Discipline for Students with Disabilities: Support Rather than Exclusion, the national conference of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA). The paper discusses the rights of students with disabilities to behavioral supports...
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04.19.2016 | Today, AFC is testifying before the New York City Council Committees on Education and Mental Health, Developmental Disability, Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Disability Services about the need to make certain that our public schools are prepared to provide all students, including...
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05.19.2016 | As the New York State Senate Education Committee holds a hearing today on mayoral control of New York City schools, Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), released the following statement supporting a long-term extension of mayoral control: As a...
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05.24.2016 | Today, AFC is testifying about the city budget before the City Council Committee on Finance, asking that the final budget include increased funding for DOE social workers for students living in shelters and for restorative justice programs. View testimony [PDF]
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06.07.2016 | A coalition of national, statewide and local organizations today urged passage of A.8396, the Judge Judith S. Kaye Safe and Supportive School Act, New York legislation aimed at promoting positive school climates and reducing racial discipline disparities. Their remarks come on the...
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05.24.2016 | The New York Bar Foundation recently presented a grant of $6,200 to Advocates for Children of New York. The grant will be used to support their Assistance for Children with Disabilities program. “The support of the New York Bar Foundation will help make it possible for...
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Page: HomeAdvocates 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...
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D.S. v. NYC Department of EducationIn 2005, AFC and Morrison & Foerster LLP filed a class action suit on behalf of a class of students who were illegally excluded from Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn’s Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood. Plaintiffs claimed that the school improperly...
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Page: J.G. v. MillsJ.G. v. MillsAdvocates for Children of New York, The Legal Aid Society of New York, and Dewey Ballantine LLP filed a class action suit on behalf of a class of students aged 7-21 who had a history of involvement with the juvenile or adult court systems and who were entitled to an education in New...
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Page: Jose P. v. MillsJose P. v. MillsJose P. was filed by a group of New York City school children with disabilities over three decades ago to force the Department of Education to obey federal laws that require appropriate evaluation, placement and services be provided to all students with disabilities. In 1979, a...
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Ray M. v. NYC Board of Education and NYS Department of Education, et al.The Ray M. suit was brought in 1994 by New York City parents of preschool children with disabilities, and alleged that these children were denied their rights to appropriate educational services under state and federal law. One...
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Boe v. NYC Board of Education, et al.Boe was brought against the NYC Board of Education in 1980 on behalf of suspended high school students who challenged the NYC suspension policies and procedures.Associated Documents:Class Action Complaint [PDF], 1980Stipulation of Settlement [PDF...