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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AFC testified before the City Council Committee on Education about the importance of class size reduction.
AFC submitted comments on the Department of Education’s proposed changes to Chancellor’s Regulation A-101 regarding school transfers, admissions, and enrollment.
AFC testified at the New York State Joint Legislative Hearing on the 2020–2021 Elementary and Secondary Education Budget proposal, urging legislators to fully fund Foundation Aid; increase investments in targeted areas such as preschool special education programs, support for Multilingual Learners, and positive approaches to discipline; and reject the harmful special education waiver proposal.
As a result of years of under-investment by the State in preschool special education programs, New York is falling far short of providing all children with the preschool special education classes they need and have a legal right to receive. This policy brief shows a projected shortfall of more than 1,000 preschool special education class seats for New York City children with disabilities for spring 2020.
Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the New York State Education Department (NYSED)’s release of high school graduation rates for the 2015 cohort.
AFC testified before the City Council Committee on Youth Services about access to after-school programming for students with disabilities, students in temporary housing and students in foster care and legislation related to universal after-school programming.
This December 2019 report, published in partnership with Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York (CCC), shows that State disinvestment in New York’s Early Intervention program has caused major racial and socio-economic disparities in access to services. The report shows that children under the age of three with developmental delays or disabilities are less likely to receive critical services that could help them reach their full potential if they live in low-income neighborhoods of color, and makes a number of recommendations to New York City and New York State in order to increase access to Early Intervention services.
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 2018-2019 school year.
Today, Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the release of the New York City Department of Education’s special education data report for the 2018-19 school year.
Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the release of the New York City Department of Education’s transportation data report for the 2018-19 school year.