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 announcement that Chancellor Carranza would be stepping down from his position.
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Education in support of proposed legislation regulating the New York City Police Department’s response to students in emotional crisis within public schools, significantly limiting the use of handcuffs on students in emotional crisis, and to express concern about the need for a new vision of school safety, beyond merely transferring the School Safety Division from the NYPD to the Department of Education.
Today, Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) issued the following response to the release of the New York City Department of Education (DOE)’s special education data report for the months of July through October 2020, and as of mid-January 2021.
On January 28, 2021, AFC testified at the New York State Joint Legislative Hearing on the 2021-2022 Elementary and Secondary Education Budget proposal, urging legislators to increase, and not cut, state education funding and ensure schools can use their full COVID-19 relief funding to reopen schools and help students catch up.
AFC and the ARISE Coalition (coordinated by AFC) testified before the City Council Committee on Education about the impact of COVID-19 on student learning, outlining essential principles and critical elements that must be included in a comprehensive COVID-19 education recovery effort.
AFC submitted comments to the draft ACS-DOE joint policy on the reporting and investigating of educational neglect.
This January 2021 data brief examines the steep decline during the COVID-19 pandemic in the number of infants and toddlers referred to the New York City Early Intervention (EI) program to address concerns about their development. As a result of the drop in referrals, thousands of young children with developmental delays or disabilities missed the chance for intervention at the time it is most effective.
AFC joined more than 30 organizations in calling on the DOE to fill the more than 20 currently vacant positions dedicated to supporting students who are homeless.
AFC testified before the City Council Committee on Education and Committee on Women and Gender Equity about the related issues of a shortage of preschool special education programs, and the problem of Learning Bridges child care programs excluding children with disabilities.
The New York State Technical and Education Assistance Center for Homeless Students (NYS-TEACHS), a project of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), posted new data showing that more than 111,000 New York City students—approximately one in ten children enrolled in district or charter schools—were identified as homeless during the 2019-20 school year. In the Bronx, approximately one in six students was homeless.