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
New Data Show Student Homelessness Continues to Rise in New York City and New York State
10.15.2018 | Today, the New York State Technical and Education Assistance Center for Homeless Students (NYS-TEACHS), a project of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), posted new data showing the number of students in New York City and New York State schools identified as homeless during the 2017-2018 school year. The data come from the... Read more
New Report Shows Only One in Five NYC Public Schools Fully Accessible to Students and Parents with Physical Disabilities
10.10.2018 | Today, Advocates for Children of New York is releasing a new data brief entitled Access Denied: School Accessibility in New York City [PDF], which looks at the accessibility of New York City’s 1,800 public schools. The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires the City to provide equitable access to schools for... Read more
AFC Writes Chancellor Carranza Regarding Busing Problems
09.27.2018 | Today, AFC sent a letter to Chancellor Carranza regarding start-of-school problems with busing. The letter shared a number of cases that are illustrative of what families, especially families of students with disabilities, routinely experience. Although the DOE has tended to treat busing as ancillary to its core mission of... Read more
Statement by AFC in Response to the Release of English Language Arts & Math Test Scores for NYC Students
09.26.2018 | In response to the release of the third through eighth grade English Language Arts (ELA) and Math test scores, Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement:“In reviewing the test scores for New York City students, we are concerned about the persistent gaps that exist for... Read more
AFC in the News
Homeless in New York Public Schools at a Record High: 114,659 Students
10.15.2018 | New York Times | Tonight, about one out of every 10 students in New York City will sleep in a homeless shelter or in the homes of relatives. That’s more children than at any other time since city records have been kept. In the morning, those same children will fan out across the city to go to school, some crossing multiple boroughs to... Read more
A lesson in inequity: The vast majority of New York City schools are inaccessible to children with disabilities
10.11.2018 | New York Daily News | A new report by Advocates for Children of New York rattles off the depressing numbers: Just 18.4% of schools in the five boroughs are fully accessible to all, with necessary ramps and elevators. Three of the city’s 32 community school districts have not a single accessible elementary school, requiring boys and... Read more
Chancellor promises 'significant investment' in accessible schools after report finds 80% block kids with disabilities
10.10.2018 | New York Daily News | City schools Chancellor Richard Carranza vowed to make a “significant investment” in creating more accessible public schools on Wednesday after a report found that only 335 of 1,818 public schools in the city are barrier-free for students with disabilities. The Advocates for Children analysis also revealed that... Read more
More than 80% of city schools are inaccessible to kids with disabilities: report
10.10.2018 | New York Daily News | Only 335 of 1,818 public schools in the city are fully equipped for students with disabilities – and one central Brooklyn district has no accessible schools at all, a new report shows. The tally of public school buildings completed by nonprofit Advocates for Children shows that even a majority of schools in a... Read more