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 submitted testimony for the Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the 2024–2025 Executive Budget Proposal regarding the need to significantly invest in Early Intervention (EI).
On the one-year anniversary of Mayor Adams’ press conference announcing he would guarantee that every child who needed a preschool special education class would have one by the spring of 2023, Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement.
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Women and Gender Equity regarding Int. No. 941-2023, and the importance of early childhood education and care in New York City.
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Immigration and Committee on Women and Gender Equity regarding early childhood education, calling on the City to extend funding for Promise NYC in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget.
This June 2023 data analysis shows that 37% of all preschoolers with disabilities—a total 9,800 children—went the entire 2021–22 school year without receiving at least one of the types of services the DOE was legally required to provide, a systemic violation of students’ rights. The report analyzes DOE data, which likely significantly understate the magnitude of the problem, and makes recommendations for needed changes moving forward.
Over 60 organizations sent a letter urging Mayor Adams to extend funding for the Mental Health Continuum; immigrant family communications and outreach; shelter-based coordinators to support students experiencing homelessness; and Promise NYC.
AFC testified before the City Council Committee on Education regarding the FY 24 preliminary budget, urging the City to extend funding for education initiatives left out of the preliminary budget and invest in initiatives to support the students with the greatest needs.
AFC testified before New York City Council Committee on General Welfare regarding the need to extend funding for Promise NYC, a crucial initiative that increases access to early childhood programs for children who are undocumented. Without action by the City, funding for this initiative will expire in June, leaving hundreds of children at risk of being turned away from their program.
AFC testified before the Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the 2023–2024 Executive Budget Health Proposal regarding the need for a rate increase for Early Intervention (EI) in the 2023–2024 budget. The Executive Budget proposal does not include any increase or cost-of-living adjustment for EI providers, whose rates today are lower than they were 20 years ago or take any other steps to help address the State’s systemic failure to provide young children with timely access to their legally mandated EI services.
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Education on access to early childhood education programs, including for children with disabilities, children in temporary housing, and children who are undocumented. The City is currently relying on $88 million in federal COVID-19 stimulus funding this year to fund preschool special education initiatives—funding that will be expiring in the fall of 2024 and needs to be sustained.