AFC works to change education policy so that the public school system serves all children effectively. We publish policy reports and data analyses, testify at the City and State levels, speak out in the press to bring attention to the challenges facing the students and families we serve, and join with other advocates, parents, youth, and educators to call for change.
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Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the release of the City’s Fiscal Year 2024 preliminary budget.
AFC testified before the New York City Council about the need to better support immigrant students and families amidst the recent influx of migrant families, including by increasing access to bilingual staff and programs, ensuring students get needed special education services, bolstering Transfer High School programs for older immigrant youth, and improving language access and communication with families.
The Coalition for Multiple Pathways to a Diploma released a petition signed by more than 1,200 New Yorkers, calling on State leaders to permanently decouple Regents exams from graduation requirements, a practice which currently makes New York State an outlier in the U.S.
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Oversight and Investigation and the Committee on Education regarding persistent, long-standing issues with NYC school bus transportation services. The DOE must take action to develop the systems and procedures necessary to run an effective transportation system that gets all students to school every day.
AFC submitted comments to the New York State Department of Health in response to proposed changes to the Early Intervention Program regulations, and concerns about proposed amendments that do not comport with legal requirements and would be harmful to children and families.
Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) issued the following response to the release of the New York City Department of Education (DOE)’s suspension data report for the 2021-22 school year.
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Education about the need for the DOE to address delays in launching key programs funded by federal COVID-19 relief funds and for city, state, and federal elected leaders to begin planning to sustain long-overdue initiatives funded with this short-term funding.
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities & Addiction and Committee on Youth Services to discuss the youth mental health crisis and urgent need for a comprehensive system to ensure that our young people have access to and receive behavioral and mental health supports in schools.
The 2021–22 school year marked the seventh consecutive year in which more than 100,000 New York City public school students experienced homelessness.
AFC testified before the City Council Committee on Youth Services about the need to ensure that the City’s summer programming provides needed support for all students, including students with disabilities, English Language Learners, and students who are homeless.