Policy Reports
All of AFC's publications are now available online.
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2007
School Pushout: Where are we now? (February 2008)
Last year, AFC surveyed 145 New York City youth to explore what factors cause students to leave school. The findings are being published today in an issue brief entitled, School Pushout: Where Are We Now. The brief provides insight into the educational experiences and aspirations of out-of-school youth in New York City. The majority of students surveyed were told to leave school for reasons, such as cutting class or having bad grades, that do not legally justify excluding a student from school. More than a third never met with a high school guidance counselor, and almost half did not know they had a legal right to remain in school until age 21. One hundred and twenty-six of the 145 youth surveyed want to continue their education and go to college.
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DEAD ENDS: THE NEED FOR MORE PATHWAYS TO GRADUATION FOR OVERAGE, UNDER-CREDITED STUDENTS IN NEW YORK CITY (December 2007)
An estimated 138,000 of the 1.1 million New York City students are overage and under-credited (OA/UC) and are out of school or at-risk for dropping out of school. In response to this problem, the New York City Department of Education has begun creating new programming specifically for these students. The city has two divisions, the Office of Multiple Pathways to Graduation (OMPG) and District 79, that offer alternative educational options to meet the needs of the OA/UC population. However, according to a briefing paper paper released by Advocates for Children of New York, Inc. pathways to graduation have not been created for all students and some students are left with dead ends under the current system. The briefing paper specifically examines the ability of the OMPG schools to meet the instructional needs of English Language Learners (ELLs), students with special education needs, students who are older with few or no credits, and students who are pregnant and parenting.
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Transitioning to Nowhere: An Analysis of the Planning and Provision of Transition Services to Students with Disabilities in New York City
(2007)
Approximately 13,000 students with disabilities exit the New York City public school system each year. The New York City Department of Education is responsible for preparing these individuals for independent living, vocational training, employment, higher education, and the other post-secondary opportunities awaiting them. Despite this obligation, the Department does not have sufficient systems or programs in place to prepare students with disabilities for their transition to life after high school, according to a report released by Advocates for Children of New York, Inc.
Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children, said, “For students with disabilities, transitioning to adulthood is likely to require more thought and planning than it does for others. The Department of Education is stranding thousands of the most vulnerable students without the support they need to prepare for their futures. We call on the Department to commit the resources necessary to address this serious problem.”
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School Year Filled with Missed Communications: Despite Chancellor’s Regulation, Immigrant Parents Still Face Language Barriers
(2007)
This report documented that two out of three parents are not receiving the most critical school document, their child's report card, in a language that they can understand. Similarly, over one third (37%) of the parents surveyed did not receive translated notices to attend parent-teacher conferences. Sixty percent of parents surveyed were not aware of the translation and interpretation services available to them.
The report's findings are based on almost 900 parent surveys, 14 focus groups with over a hundred parents, and over 100 school, registration centers, and borough high school fair site visits.
[pdf]
2006
A Bad Start to the School Year: Despite New Regulation Immigrant Parents Still Face Major Language Barriers (2006)
This report reveals serious lapses in the provision of language assistance services to immigrant parents found during our month long monitoring of high school registration centers and a recent survey of select parent coordinators.
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So Many Schools, So Few Options: How Mayor Bloomberg’s Small High School Reforms Deny Full Access to English Language Learners (2006)
This report utilizes enrollment data from the New York City Department of Education to examine the representation of ELLs and immigrant students in both small and large schools, as well as the extent to which small high schools have not been created in areas with large and growing immigrant student populations.
[pdf]
Up Against the Odds: New York City’s Homeless Children Lose Out in School (2006)
This report found that the New York City Department of Education (DOE) must increase its efforts to ensure the protection of homeless students’ legal rights to education. The report underscores the importance of providing education to homeless children and youth, and the need for increased coordination among city agencies and the DOE to provide services to these students.
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An In-depth Look at Free Tutoring Services Under the No Child Left Behind Act in New York City: A Focus on English Language Learners (2006)
This briefing provides an analysis of NYC Department of Education (DOE) statistics regarding student eligibility and enrollment in Supplemental Education Services (SES) and outlines the results of a survey of all 2004-2005 DOE approved SES Providers. This study was undertaken to examine both the extent to which students in New York City (NYC) are being provided SES and the capacity of SES providers to serve the needs of English Language Learners (ELLs).
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2005
In Harm's Way: A Survey of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students Who Speak About Harassment and Discrimination in NYC Schools (2005)
This report examines the results of a survey to determine whether many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students in New York City experience a safe and supportive learning environment. The report also examines the current state of the law meant to protect students from harassment and discrimination in schools. The results of this work were disturbing: most LGBT young people surveyed experienced extensive harassment and/or discrimination in New York City schools, both by peers and by school staff.
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Leaving School Empty Handed: A Report on Graduation and Dropout Rates for Students who Receive Special Education Services In New York City (2005)
This report examines the graduation outcomes of the more than 170,000 children currently classified as having disabilities and in need of special education services in New York City, based on Federal, New York State and New York City data from the school years between 1996-1997 and 2003-2004.
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Project Achieve: A Model Project Providing Education Advocacy for Children in the Child Welfare System (2005)
AFC has created a model program called Project Achieve to ensure that children in or at risk of placement in foster care receive access to appropriate educational services. There are over 20,000 children in foster care in New York City, and those of school age are among the most at-risk students in the city’s public schools.
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Elisa Hyman, School Push-Outs: An Urban Case Study, 38 Clearinghouse Rev. 684 (2005)
This study describes the efforts undertaken by AFC to address the push-out problem in NYC.
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Jill Chaifetz & Rachel Kravitz, Holding Back Students Damages Their Educational Progress: An Advocacy Report, 38 Clearinghouse Rev. 690 (2005)
This report presents research that demonstrates why retention policies are damaging to students, and presents methods for advocating against retention.
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2004
An Overview Of Research On The Effectiveness Of Retention On Student Achievement For New York City School Children (2004)
This report examines the harmful effects of retention, including the blanket strategy of using a single test to determine if a student should be held back. This report found that retention impedes the educational progress of children, and leads to primarily lower achievement and higher drop out rates.
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Children in Crisis: Advocates for Children's Domestic Violence Education Advocacy Project (2004)
During the 2001-2002 school year, AFC piloted a project called the Domestic Violence Education Advocacy Project that provided inspanidual school related advocacy for children who had been exposed to domestic violence or abuse and who were having significant problems in school. These children were unable to perform up to their academic potential as a result of suffering from undetected and untreated trauma related illnesses. AFC has found that the public school system, in particular the special education system, bears the brunt of this problem.
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Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in New York City: An Assessment of Current Special Education Service Delivery (2004)
This report assesses the manner in which special education services are delivered to children in NYC who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders, with a particular focus on the delivery of services to poor children and children of color.
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From Translation to Participation: A Survey of Parent Coordinators in New York City and Their Ability to Assist Non-English Speaking Parents (2004)
This report examines the role of Parent Coordinators and their ability to serve the needs of Limited English Proficient (LEP) parents. The NYC Dept. of Education created a Parent Coordinator position at every public school as of 9/2003 to facilitate involvement by LEP parents in their children’s education.
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Losing Our Future: How Minority Youth are Being Left Behind by the Graduation Rate Crisis (2004)
This report highlights the urgent need to address the impending crisis of minority groups not graduating from high school at troubling rates.
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Denied At the Door: Language Barriers Block Immigrant Parents from School Involvement (2004)
This report addresses the lack of meaningful access afforded to parents with limited English proficiency to their children’s schools and the school system due to language differences. Evidence suggests that parental involvement in a child’s education is a key factor to his/her success in school. Yet, NYC and NYS have failed to ensure that immigrant and limited English proficient parents have the most basic access to their children’s schools.
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2003
Serving Those Most In Need Or Not? A report on the implementation of the NCLB's supplemental education services in New York City (2003)
This report examines the results of surveys that were conducted to assess the implementation and effectiveness of Supplemental Education Services (SES). These tutoring and remediation services were provided for the first time in 2002-2003 to over 240,000 eligible children in schools “in need of improvement.” The results of the surveys show major problems with implementation of SES in NYC, especially for disabled students and those classified as English Language Learners.
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2002
Pushing Out At-Risk Students: An Analysis of High School Discharge Figures -- A joint report by AFC and the Public Advocate (2002)
This report examines data documenting students in New York City who have been designated as “discharged” from the school system, an indicator that has received little public attention. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many of these discharges may have been forced “push-outs” by school administrators of students, who have a legal right to remain in public schools.
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2001
LRE COALITION: Learning Together, Lessons in Inclusive Education in NYC (2002)
This report examines a group of programs in NYC public schools that prove that integration of special needs children into regular classrooms is not only possible but also desirable for children with many different types of disabilities and with differing needs.
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Creating a Formula for Success: Why English Language Learner Students Are Dropping Out of School, and How to Increase Graduation Rates (2002)
This report analyzes the educational outcomes of English Language Learners (ELLs) since the implementation of new graduation standards in New York State and assesses the implementation of promised improvements in the education provided to ELLs. The new standards require ELLs to pass the English Language Arts Regents, an exam designed for native speakers.
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LRE COALITION: "Still Waiting After All These Years...Inclusion of Children with Special Needs in New York City Public Schools" (2001)
This report looks at the history of special education services in the New York City school system and at the differing views regarding how children with disabilities should be treated, i.e., via segregation or inclusion.
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Report from the Front Lines: What's Needed to Make New York's ESL and Bilingual Programs Succeed (2001)
This report focuses on one of the ingredients most fundamental for English Language Learners (ELLs): their teachers, and the resources they possess to teach ELLs. It also addresses the impact of new graduation and promotion standards for ELLs, the challenges teachers face, and steps the NYC public schools need to take to overcome these challenges.
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2000
Playing by The Rules When The System Doesn't: Immigrant Families and Summer School in New York (2000)
This report discusses findings from surveys conducted during the summer of 2000 to assess the implementation and effectiveness of the Year 2000 Summer program, an integral part of the NYC Board of Education’s updated promotion policy. Surveys focused on English Language Learners and children from immigrant families.
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Educational Neglect: The Delivery of Educational Services to Children in New York City's Foster Care System (2000)
This report shows the results of surveys of inspaniduals involved in the delivery of educational services to foster care children as well as to the foster care children and parents themselves. The main institutions in foster children’s lives fail to put into place the fundamental building blocks that could help these at-risk children meet with educational success.
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Analysis of the Board of Education's Change of Policy Regarding the Retention of Students (2000)
This report examines changes initiated by the Board of Education to end the policy of “social promotion.”
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An Overview of National Research on the Effectiveness of Retention on Student Achievement (2000)
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1999
Neglected Buildings, Damaged Health: A 'Snapshot' of New York City Public School Environmental Conditions (1999)
This report examines the results of a survey of school conditions carried out by the NYC Healthy Schools Working Group provides a snapshot of the environmental conditions in NYC public schools. It examines the results of years of neglect of infrastructure for children and reveals disturbing new information about the environmental health of school occupants.
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1998
The Educational Needs of Children in Foster Care: The Need for System Reform (1998)
This report provides an overview of the educational needs of children in foster care, as being placed into foster care is particularly disruptive for children with educational disabilities or other special needs.
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Appropriately Assessing the Needs of Newcomer Students (1998)
This paper focuses on eliminating barriers to accurate assessment of newcomer students and enhancing sensitivity and support for newcomer students in the classroom
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Asthma in the School: A Look at New York City (1998)
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Prior to 1998
Segregated and Second Rate: "Special" Education in New York
This report endorses the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms.
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Least Restrictive Environment and Mainstreaming for Children with Behavioral and Emotional Handicapping Conditions
This paper endorses the placement of children with behavioral and emotionally handicapping conditions in the least restrictive environment.
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Inclusion: The Considerations and Rights of Placing Special Education Students in Regular Education Classrooms
This report discusses the considerations and rights of inclusion, the process of obtaining inclusion for a disabled child, the appeal process, and the issues arising from inclusion for particular disabilities.
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Gifted Education in New York City: An Analysis of Segregation in New York City's Gifted Programs
This report examines New York City’s gifted programs and addresses the underrepresentation of African American and Latino students in gifted programs and possible solutions.
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Learning in Limbo: The Educational Deprivation of Homeless Children (1989)
This report addresses the effects of homelessness on education.
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And Miles to Go...Barriers to Academic Achievement and Innovative Strategies for the Delivery of Educational Services to Homeless Children (1991)
This report offers innovative strategies for educating New York City’s homeless students.
Part 1 of 3 [pdf]
Part 2 of 3 [pdf]
Part 3 of 3 [pdf]
Immigrant Children: Challenges and Opportunities For Our Schools (1989)
This report examines the problems that recently arrived immigrant children face within the public school system.
Part 1 of 2 [pdf]
Part 2 of 2 [pdf]
Meeting Adolescent Need: Four Effective Middle Schools (1986)
This study describes several middle schools which serve poor and minority students more effectively than most middle schools in the New York City public school system. AFC then follows with an analysis of how each school carried out its typical functions.
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Report of the New York Hearing on The Crisis in Public Education (1985)
This report examines the public hearing on "Our Children at Risk: The Crisis in Public Education" that was organized by AFC and co-sponsered by Statewide Youth Advocacy. The hearings focused on three areas which are key to inequity: the denial of equal access to school resources, the denial of equal quality in the learning process, and the denial of open futures in the link between school and work -- access, quality, jobs.
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Public High Schools: Private Admissions A report on New York City Practices (1985)
This report focuses on how certain unzoned public high school programs are selective in their admissions practices and the negative affects of these practices on low income, predominantly minority school districts.
Part 1 of 3 [pdf]
Part 2 of 3 [pdf]
Part 3 of 3 [pdf]
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