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.
63 Results Found
AFC and the ARISE Coalition, which is coordinated by AFC, each testified before the City Council Education Committee about the education proposals in the Fiscal Year 2016 Preliminary Budget.
AFC testified at the New York City Council Committee on General Welfare hearing on interagency collaboration between the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) to protect children in temporary housing. We urge ACS and DHS to create a long-term plan to enroll all eligible children living in the City’s shelters in early childhood education programs.
AFC testified on the proposed state education budget for 2015–2016, urging the Legislature to increase funding for pre-K, Career and Technical Education (CTE), and to support English Language Learners (ELLs) and immigrant students; reject the Executive Budget special education waiver proposal; modify the charter school proposal to ensure that charter schools serve high-needs populations; support the proposal to establish regional rates for Special Education Itinerant Teacher (SEIT) services; and increase education funding overall.
AFC testified at the City Council Committee on General Welfare oversight hearing on EarlyLearn. EarlyLearn programs need adequate funding, training, technical assistance, and support to serve all eligible preschool students, including those who need additional support in order to succeed in the classroom and prepare for kindergarten.
Today Advocates for Children testified before the City Council Committee on Mental Health, Developmental Disability, Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Disability Services on the importance of the Early Intervention program.
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committees on General Welfare, Juvenile Justice, and Women’s Issues about the impact of the FY 2015 Preliminary Budget on early learning programs, and the importance of providing adequate funding for high-quality early childhood education programs for young children from low-income backgrounds.
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Education and Committee on Women’s Issues in support of New York City’s plan to create a new funding stream to pay for a rapid expansion of Universal Pre-K.
AFC submitted testimony for the New York State Education Budget Hearing, applauding the Governor’s call to make pre-k truly universal, but pointing out that the funding in the budget proposal is insufficient to reach this goal. AFC calls on the Legislature to support Mayor de Blasio’s plan to expand pre-k rapidly in NYC and also makes recommendations regarding the Governor’s preschool special education reform, special education waiver, after-school, and anti-discrimination proposals.
AFC testified before the General Welfare and Women’s Issues Committees of the New York City Council regarding the implementation of EarlyLearn NYC. We are discussing the importance of increased funding to ensure that every child can participate in a high-quality early childhood education program.
AFC’s Early Childhood Education Project submitted comments on proposed revisions to the federal Child Care Development Fund regulations. Our suggestions are largely focused on two overarching goals that are of vital importance to the clients we serve: making it easier for low-income families to access subsidized child care so that their children can receive a high-quality early childhood education, and improving the ability of child care programs to serve children with special needs.