Policy

Public Comments & Testimony Archive: 2013

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AFC Testifies on the Impact of Standardized Testing on Graduation, November 25, 2013 
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Education, arguing that high-stakes standardized exit exams create unnecessary barriers to graduation.

AFC Testifies on Early Childhood Education, October 28, 2013 
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 Testifies on Special Education Reform, October 25, 2013 
AFC testified before the Education Committee of the New York City Council regarding the Department of Education's special education reform. Our school system needs to change how it educates students with disabilities; however, change will not yield positive results unless it is well executed and adequately financed.

AFC Testifies on the Implementation of Close to Home, October 23, 2013 
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Juvenile Justice regarding the educational needs of students in the custody of the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) in non-secure placement through Close to Home. Our testimony expresses concerns about the quality and consistency of education across all of the non-secure placement facilities, and encourages ACS to continue to improve the initial placement process by ensuring that the educational needs of youth and a student’s grade and age are given due consideration during the placement process.

AFC Submits Testimony on Significant School Changes, October 2, 2013 
AFC submitted testimony to the Education Committee of the New York City Council supporting a one-year moratorium on school closings and additional community notification, but opposing a resolution giving Community Education Councils veto power over proposed co-locations.

AFC Comments on Proposed Revisions to the Federal Child Care Development Fund Regulations, August 2, 2013 
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.

AFC Testifies on Re-entry Planning for Youth in Detention and Placement, June 18, 2013 
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Juvenile Justice on the educational needs of students transitioning back into the community from detention and placement.

AFC Testifies on the Draft Citywide Discipline Code for 2013-2014, June 6, 2013 
AFC testified before the DOE's Office of Safety and Youth Development on the draft discipline code for the 2013-2014 school year. AFC called for the discipline code to include meaningful information regarding behavioral supports for students with disabilities.

AFC Testifies Regarding Early Childhood and After-School Cuts in the Fiscal Year 2014 Executive Budget, June 5, 2013
AFC testified before the City Council Committee on Finance, urging city leaders to reject shortsighted proposed cuts to early childhood education and after-school programs.

AFC Testifies before OCFS on the Child Care Plan for 2014-15, April 26, 2013 
AFC testified before the state Office of Children and Family Services hearing on the child care plan for 2014-15, arguing that our leaders must provide more funding to increase access to quality early childhood education programs and ensure that children with disabilities have access to those programs.

AFC Comments on Education Components of Close to Home Draft Plan, April 23, 2013 
AFC submitted comments on the New York City Administration for Children’s Services’ proposed plan for limited secure placement of youth as part of phase two of the Close to Home juvenile justice reform initiative.

AFC Testifies on the Importance of Improving School Climate and Safety, April 15, 2013 
AFC provided testimony at the City Council Oversight Hearing examining School Climate and Safety. AFC's testimony highlighted the NYC Department of Education's failure to provide mandated behavioral supports for students with disabilities as well as its failure to implement positive behavior modification programs for all students for decreasing students suspensions and improving school climate and culture in schools.

AFC Testifies about the Preliminary NYC Budget for Fiscal Year 2014, March 18, 2013 
AFC testified before the City Council General Welfare Committee to urge city leaders to reject proposed cuts to early learning programs in New York City.

AFC Testifies about the Bus Strike, February 8, 2013 
AFC testified before the Education Committee of the New York City Council about the cost of pupil transportation in NYC and the impact of the bus strike on the families we serve. AFC has heard from countless families struggling to get their children to and from school during the strike – a strike which for three weeks now has left great numbers of students with special education needs without the free, appropriate, public education they are entitled to under law.

AFC Submits Testimony on the 2013-14 Executive Budget Proposal, January 30, 2013 
AFC submitted testimony urging the New York State Legislature to ensure that the state budget protects access to high-quality Early Intervention services that are driven by children’s needs, not by their health insurance coverage.