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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More than 101,000 New York City students were identified as homeless during the 2020–21 school year, a 42% increase since the start of the decade and the sixth consecutive school year that more than 100,000 New York City students experienced homelessness.
Mayor-elect Eric Adams will take office at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the longstanding inequities in our City’s schools. Based on our 50 years of on-the-ground experience helping students and families navigate the largest school system in the country and get the support they need to learn, we outline some of the most pressing challenges in public education — including those that pre-date COVID — where the incoming Mayor must be prepared to focus attention, energy, and resources.
AFC submitted written testimony to the City Council Committee on General Welfare in strong support of Intro. 1829-2019, which would preclude the Department of Homeless Services from requiring parents to bring their children to shelter intake appointments and help ensure students do not have to miss school when their families apply for shelter.
AFC and the ARISE Coalition (coordinated by AFC) testified before the City Council Committee on Education on the continued work needed to strengthen the DOE’s academic recovery plans this year. While we appreciate that the City is using this funding for some important initiatives, we worry there is still inadequate detail about how the funding will be used, inadequate funding for key priorities, and too much discretion and responsibility left to individual schools that already have their hands full reopening schools and keeping school communities safe.
According to monthly attendance data released by the New York City Department of Education (DOE), students living in homeless shelters had significantly more difficulty accessing an education than their permanently housed peers in winter and spring 2021.
AFC testified before the New York State Senate Education Committee on the DOE’s use of increased state and federal education funding; specifically, how the funding is being used to meet the needs of students with disabilities, English Language Learners, and students experiencing homelessness—students who were hit particularly hard by the closure of schools.
Advocates for Children of New York joined 25 organizations to urge the DOE to hire 150 shelter-based Community Coordinators to help students living in shelter reconnect with school and participate in supplemental programming offered by the DOE.
AFC testified before the City Council Committees on Education and General Welfare about the importance of having an intentional, targeted plan to support students in shelter as the City decides how to use its historic influx of education funding.
This policy brief highlights disparities in school attendance during the pandemic and calls on the City to invest in an ambitious Education Recovery Plan that ensures all students can receive the academic and social-emotional support they need as they return to school.
With the federal government having approved the largest one-time investment in education in our nation’s history, NYC needs an ambitious education initiative to pave the way to hope and opportunity for this generation of students. Such a plan must invest resources in academic support, mental health support, and outreach and engagement. It must be targeted to assist students disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, including the provision of specialized instruction and support where needed. This plan outlines our recommendations for steps the City should take.