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 New York City Council Committee on Education, Committee on Finance, and Subcommittee on Capital Budget in support of the proposal to include $750 million in the FY 2020–2024 Capital Plan to improve school accessibility.
Advocates for Children testified before the City Council Committee on General Welfare regarding recommendations for supporting students experiencing homelessness.
AFC submitted public comment to the New York State Education Department on a proposed amendment to the regulation about the right of students with disabilities receiving SACC and CDOS credentials to participate in graduation ceremonies and activities. We urged NYSED to require schools to inform families that these students have the right to stay in school through age 21 or until they earn a diploma, regardless of their participation in graduation activities.
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committees on Education, Sanitation and Solid Waste Management, and Transportation about the City’s Preparation for and Response to Winter Storm Avery. Our testimony focused on the experiences of students with disabilities on school buses during the snowstorm and the importance of passing legislation to provide parents with access to real-time GPS data for their children’s school buses.
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committees on Juvenile Justice and Youth Services on the educational reentry programming needs of New York City’s formerly incarcerated youth.
Advocates for Children, along with more than 30 other organizations, sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio calling on him to provide busing for kindergarten through sixth grade students in foster care.
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 proposed FY 2020-2024 Five-Year Capital Plan.
AFC testified before the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Education regarding the current state of health, mental health, and physical education programs, services, and instruction in New York State’s schools. Our testimony discusses the need for the expansion of school-based mental health services and evidence-based approaches to student behavior.
Advocates for Children testified before the City Council Committee on Education about the importance of improving the school transportation system, especially for students with disabilities, students in foster care, and students in temporary housing, and in support of a bill to provide real-time GPS bus location data to parents.
This October 2018 data brief finds that less than one in five of the City’s schools is categorized by the DOE as “fully accessible.” The report urges the City to use the forthcoming capital plan to reach an ambitious and attainable goal—making a third of all schools fully accessible by 2024.