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.
Leading the Way for NYC Schools: Recommendations for the Next Administration
Based on our experience helping thousands of NYC families each year, we urge the next Mayor to take on big challenges with bold ideas and stand firm in the face of threats to students’ civil rights.
Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the release of the City’s Fiscal Year 2020 Executive Budget.
AFC submitted comments in response to the DOE’s proposed changes to the Chancellor’s Regulations regarding the education of students in temporary housing, including the importance of bus service for kindergarten through sixth grade students living in shelters.
AFC testified before the City Council Committee on Education on the importance of increasing funding for several education priorities, including school social workers, direct mental health support for students, educational support for students who are homeless and students in foster care, and preschool special education programs.
Advocates for Children testified before the City Council Committee on General Welfare regarding recommendations for supporting students experiencing homelessness.
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.
Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the New York City Council’s vote to adopt the Fiscal Year 2019 city budget.
This May 2018 report documents the number of New York City schools with high concentrations of students living in shelters that do not have a social worker focused on this population. AFC’s analysis shows that the Mayor’s proposed modest increase in funding falls far short of meeting the need, and calls on the City to double the number of school social workers focused on serving students living in shelters.
