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 Education Committee about the City’s Fiscal Year 2017 Preliminary Budget, calling on the Administration and City Council to increase funding to address school climate and to support students experiencing homelessness.
AFC presented this white paper at the 2016 national conference of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA). The paper discusses the rights of students with disabilities to behavioral supports, and individual and systemic advocacy strategies that provide support for students with disabilities instead of excluding them from school.
This report documents the need for urgent and sustained action to improve literacy levels for low-income students with disabilities and prepare schools to teach reading effectively for all students. It reviews research and case stories indicating that students with a wide range of disabilities are capable of learning to read if they receive appropriate instruction, discusses the key elements for teaching reading effectively, highlights a number of promising programs in NYC, and provides recommendations for implementing systemic change.
In February 2016, the Coalition for Multiple Pathways to a Diploma, coordinated by AFC, issued an updated policy brief identifying barriers to CTE instruction for students with disabilities and ELLs and providing recommendations to NYSED and the Board of Regents for creating accessible CTE programs that will benefit these students.
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Education and Committee on General Welfare regarding transportation and support for students experiencing homelessness.
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Mental Health, Developmental Disability, Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Disability Services regarding City students’ behavioral and mental health needs.
AFC testified at a New York City Council Committee on Higher Education oversight hearing on teacher training in New York City’s post-secondary institutions, emphasizing the need to better prepare new teachers to support the needs of students who are struggling to learn to read and students with behavioral challenges.
Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York, issued the following statement in response to the proposal for expanding graduation pathways for all students discussed at today’s Board of Regents meeting.
AFC submitted comments on the New York City Department of Education’s Proposed Community Schools Policy, which we view as an important vehicle for creating shared language and expectations around the City’s Community Schools Initiative.