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Julian’s Story

Julian is a 3-year-old preschooler with delays in his language skills, but the DOE failed to provide recommended services.

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  • Resource: LGBTQ+ Education Guide: Your Rights as an LGBTQ+ Student in a NYC Public School
    This guide is for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning (LGBTQ+) students in New York City public schools, and their allies. It lays out LGBTQ+ students’ rights and what to do if these rights have been violated. It also answers common questions about LGBTQ+ youth in public...
  • Blog: NYC Mayor Adams expands special education in preschools
    12.13.2022 I Gothamist | According to Advocates for Children of New York, while the de Blasio administration did provide preschool programming for students with disabilities, it was not enough. Hundreds of the city’s 3- and 4-year-olds have been unable to participate in the city’s free pre-K...
  • Blog: NYC to address lack of spots for preschoolers with disabilities
    12.13.2022 | NY Daily News | “We’ve heard from family after family with the same story,” said Randi Levine of Advocates for Children. “Their young child had autism or other complex disabilities and needed a seat in a preschool special-education class, but there was no seats available. Many of...
  • Blog: Mayor promises pre-K for all special needs students, adds 800 seats
    12.13.2022 | NY1 | A shortage of seats left hundreds of students with disabilities without a spot in a special education classroom that could meet the needs listed on their Individualized Education Program, or IEP, according to annual data from the organization Advocates for Children. “At the...
  • Blog: Eric Adams puts his own spin on universal pre-K
    12.13.2022 | City & State | A report released in January by nonprofit Advocates for Children found that about 34% of preschool students identified for needing special education did not receive all their mandated services in the 2019-2020 school year. Students of color as well as children...
  • Blog: How dyslexia became a social justice issue for Black parents
    12.19.2022 | The Washington Post | In recent years, a growing number of experts, advocates and parents have argued that educators are often too quick to blame poor reading outcomes on families, particularly low-income ones, overlooking schools’ complicity in perpetuating unequal access. “Blame...
  • Blog: While white students get specialists, struggling Black and Latino readers often get left on their own
    12.19.2022 | The Hechinger Report | In a May report pushing for stronger reading curricula in New York City schools, as well as an amped-up safety net for those who struggle, leaders of Advocates for Children of New York said that for too long it has been left up to families to ensure their...
  • Blog: NY Student Advocates: Enough With Regents Exams
    12.20.2022 | Public News Service | Juliet Eisenstein, senior staff attorney, Post Readiness Project, Advocates for Children of New York, described some of the options the state could consider for students to have, in lieu of Regents exams. "I think the most important thing is that students...
  • Blog: NYC has spent $60M to help new migrant students as schools scramble to meet basic needs
    12.20.2022 | Gothamist | “We have heard from parents whose children are placed in monolingual English classrooms… as well as students placed at schools that do not have needed bilingual staff,” said Diana Aragundi, senior staff attorney at Advocates for Children New York. She said schools also...
  • Blog: PROMISE NYC: Childcare assistance for undocumented families
    12.22.2022 | Amsterdam News | The timing of the Promise NYC childcare program will certainly help newly arrived asylum seekers find stable housing and employment, but it’s been a long awaited change for many. “Before this announcement, children who were undocumented did not have access to...
  • Blog: The under- and overrepresentation of Black & brown students in special education programs
    12.22.2022 | Amsterdam News | Randi Levine, policy director for Advocates for Children of New York, said that based on the data, Black students disproportionately rank in high numbers in “school aged” special education classes compared to other races while simultaneously missing out on critical...
  • Blog: Group Asks State Leaders to Consider Alternate Pathways for Students to Graduate
    12.22.2022 | WRCR | Student advocates in New York are asking state education officials for alternate pathways to graduation. The group “Coalition for Multiple Pathways to a Diploma” has a petition signed by 12-hundred New Yorkers urging state leaders to separate Regents exams from graduation...
  • Blog: Goodbye, Regents? A New York commission mulls high school graduation requirements
    01.04.2023 | Chalkbeat NY | The Coalition for Multiple Pathways to a Diploma, a group that has pushed for changes to graduation requirements for more than a decade, compiled a 1,200-signature petition last month calling for the state to immediately remove Regents exams from diploma requirements....
  • Blog: Asylum-seeking students use translation apps to overcome language barrier in NYC classrooms
    01.12.2023 | Gothamist | “This crisis underscores the need for recruiting, training and retaining bilingual staff and opening more bilingual programs in schools serving a significant number of English language learners and newly arrived immigrant children,” said Rita Rodriguez-Engberg,...
  • Blog: NYC mayor’s proposed budget reduces education spending, but avoids controversial cuts to schools
    01.12.2023 | Gothamist | Advocates said they were glad to see that the financial plan did not include the enrollment-based cuts, but many worried about the scaled back of ambitions around 3K and other initiatives. “We are relieved that the city is not moving forward with certain planned cuts...
  • Blog: AFC Responds to Release of City’s FY 24 Preliminary Budget
    01.12.2023 | Today, 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 2024 preliminary budget: We are relieved that the City is not moving forward with certain planned cuts to school...
  • Page: Turning 5 2020 Workshop Materials
    Turning 5 Webinar Series MaterialsStill have questions? Register for another one of our upcoming Turning 5 events.¿Aún tienes preguntas? Regístrese para otro de nuestros próximos eventos de Cumpliendo 5.Watch a video recording of 'Understanding the Kindergarten IEP' webinarSee slides from this...
  • Resource: Cumpliendo 5: Una Guía para la Transición de la Educación Especial del Preescolar a Kínder
    Overview of the kindergarten placement process for students who need school-aged special education services. More detailed information on eligibility, referral, evaluations, Turning 5 IEP meeting, and kindergarten placement. Guide also includes information on what to do if placement is...
  • Page: Leadership & Staff
    Leadership & StaffKim SweetExecutive Director Matthew LenaghanDeputy DirectorKaren AlvesSenior Education Specialist and Outreach CoordinatorDiana AragundiSenior Staff Attorney, Immigrant Students' Rights ProjectMichael ArringtonLaw Graduate and Education Collaborative Manager, Project...
  • Page: Junior Board
    Junior BoardThe mission of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC)’s Junior Board is to support and promote the critical issues and efforts of Advocates for Children in a variety of ways, including:Serving as an advocate for quality and equitable public education;Providing input on AFC’s positions...