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.
428 Results Found
AFC joined more than 80 organizations calling on the State to ensure that children do not lose Early Intervention services due to the difficulties getting preschool evaluations during the pandemic.
This June 2020 policy brief shows that there are approximately 3,700 students in New York State who will age out of school this year and lose their chance to earn a diploma. They are disproportionately students of color, students with disabilities, and English Language Learners. The brief calls on the State Education Department to issue guidance directing districts to allow all students aging out of school without a diploma to return to high school next year.
AFC’s testimony urged the State to reject proposed amendments to Sections 200.1 and 200.5 of Title 8 NYCRR that would allow non-attorneys to serve as hearing officers in special education cases.
Advocates for Children joined more than 80 other education, social service, and civil rights organizations in calling on the entire New York City Congressional delegation to invest $205B in public education in the next COVID response bill.
AFC testified before the City Council Committee on Education about remote learning and the impact of COVID-19 on the City’s schools, focusing on the challenges our clients have experienced and the need for the DOE to address the barriers students are facing so they can participate in remote summer school.
AFC and the ARISE Coalition (coordinated by AFC) testified before the New York City Council Committee on Finance about the importance of rejecting proposed cuts to schools and investing in education initiatives that will help students get needed support when they return to school, including funding for preschool special education classes, direct mental health support for students, guaranteed transportation for students in foster care, support for English Language Learners, and more.
AFC submitted comments to NYSED on proposed changes to the state special education regulations, urging the State to reject proposed amendments that would allow non-attorneys to serve as hearing officers in special education cases.
Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to Mayor de Blasio’s announcement about offers to New York City Pre-K programs.
More than 100 education and advocacy organizations and over five dozen parents and educators from across New York State sent a letter to the New York State Board of Regents and the State Education Department, urging them to give students who are aging out of school this year the opportunity to return to high school for the 2020-21 school year, rather than lose their chance to earn a high school diploma because of COVID-19.
Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the New York City Department of Education (DOE)’s announced grading policy for the 2019-20 school year.