Advocates for Children of New York works on behalf of children who are at greatest risk for school-based discrimination and/or academic failure due to poverty, disability, race, ethnicity, immigrant or English Language Learner status, sexual orientation, gender identity, homelessness, or involvement in the foster care or juvenile justice systems.
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Spotlight
Transportation for Students in Foster Care
09.27.2019 | AFC joined 25 child welfare and education organizations in sending a letter to Mayor de Blasio calling on the City to abide by federal and state law and honor its commitment to guarantee bus service or a comparable mode of transportation to kindergarten through sixth-grade students in foster care. When students are placed... Continue reading
AFC Testifies on Multiple Pathways to a Diploma
09.24.2019 | AFC, on behalf of the Coalition for Multiple Pathways to a Diploma, testified before the City Council Committee on Education on high-stakes tests and the need for more ways to determine that students have mastered high school graduation standards. The State’s current graduation requirements create a barrier to post-secondary... Continue reading
Motion Filed in Federal Court for Independent Special Master Due to NYC DOE’s Failure to Comply with Hearing Orders
09.03.2019 | After years of the New York City Department of Education (DOE) failing to follow hearing orders to provide or pay for services for students with disabilities, Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) and Milbank LLP filed a Motion for an Independent Special Master to oversee the DOE’s implementation of these orders. The motion... Continue reading
Statement by Advocates for Children in Response to the Release of English Language Arts & Math Test Scores
08.22.2019 | In response to the release of the grades 3–8 English Language Arts (ELA) and Math test scores, Kim Sweet, Executive Director, issued the following statement: We are pleased that test scores for third through eighth graders continue to trend in the right direction. In particular, rising ELA scores for third graders—53.3% of New... Continue reading
AFC in the News
New bill would require NYC to report number of special education students who need translated documents
10.17.2019 | NY Daily News | Rita Rodriguez-Engberg said many parents don’t even know they can have special education documents translated, which outline services like paraprofessionals, smaller class sizes and assistive technology for students with disabilities.“It puts the onus on the parents to make the requests,” Rodriguez-Engberg said. “A lot... Continue reading
A Call to End Special Education Hearing Delays Amid ‘Harm’ to Students
10.16.2019 | The City | Seven public interest organizations sent a letter Tuesday to top education officials charging that the department for years “has woefully failed to meet its obligations” to address special education complaints.The city education department’s inability to meet legal deadlines for resolving complaints filed by families of... Continue reading
NYC foster care kids among those still without school bus pick ups 3 weeks into fall semester, advocates say
09.27.2019 | New York Daily News | The Legal Aid Society and 24 other organizations sent a letter to Mayor de Blasio Thursday urging the city to “honor its commitment” to provide buses.State and federal law requires schools to provide students in foster care transportation so they don’t have to switch schools — a disruption that can send already... Continue reading
Hamilton’s Anthony Ramos, Bensonhurst grad, testifies against high-stakes testing
09.26.2019 | Brooklyn Daily Eagle | Ashley Grant, supervising staff attorney at Advocates for Children of New York told the story of a girl she called Myra — a bright student who did well in her classes, maintained a B average and earned more than 50 credits (far exceeding the coursework required for a Regents diploma). But, she struggled to pass... Continue reading