Having trouble reading this email? {View in your browser} | Donate

Spring 2024

POLICY CORNER

NYC Restores $514M in Funding for Critical Education Programs

After months of advocacy with our partners in the Emergency Coalition to Save Education Programs, it was a big moment when Mayor Eric Adams announced the City would be restoring $514 million in funding for programs that families rely on. While we celebrate this victory, we also continue to advocate: there are still essential programs with funding on the chopping block, and we cannot afford to lose them.

SPOTLIGHT ON SUCCESS

Emanuel's Story

Five-year-old Emanuel has Autism. When he came to New York City with his parents from Chile, they tried to obtain appropriate special education services for him, but the process took so long that the shelter staff where the family was living recommended that Emanuel be enrolled in a general education kindergarten classroom at a nearby school. It was Emanuel's first time in a classroom setting, and without any of the extra supports he needed, he was overwhelmed, and the school was completely unprepared to meet his needs.

“Thank you so much for the help you have given to my son. Now, my son has started to develop and has advanced so much in a school that is better for him. I don’t have the words to express my gratitude for your support.”

-Emanuel's mother

WEBSITE LAUNCH

AFC Launches New Website!

We're thrilled to announce the launch of our brand-new website, packed with the same know-your-rights guides, policy advocacy information, and tools you rely on to help you navigate the NYC Public Schools, but now on a much more user-friendly platform.

SUPPORTING OUR WORK

AFC Will Celebrate Our 2024 Spring Benefit on May 15th

PUBLICATIONS ROUND-UP

New & Updated Resources for Students, Parents and Professionals

AFC has hundreds of free know-your-rights guides, tip sheets, and other resources to help NYC families navigate the public school system. These are some of our most recently published or updated resources. Translations are available on our website.

📄 Tip Sheet for Resolving Transportation Issues

📄 Guide to Transition Services & College Planning

📄 Guide to Gifted & Talented Programs for Students with Disabilities

📄 Supporting Students in Domestic Violence Shelters

📄 Guide to Special Education Impartial Hearings

📄 Timeline of the Special Education Process: Initial Referral, Evaluation, and Recommendation

AFC REPORT

Safeguarding Success: A Look at the Role of Shelter-Based Community Coordinators

IN THE NEWS

AFC's Recent Headlines

NY Daily News, April 19 | NYC to restore $500 million to bolster 3-K, other education programs on the chopping block

CBS News, April 17 | 3K and pre-K budget cuts driving NYC kids out of public schools, advocates say

Chalkbeat NY, April 16 | Delays in free MetroCards for homeless NYC families threaten school attendance

Gothamist, April 5 | NYC school mental health jobs are on the chopping block. The City Council wants them back

CIty & State, April 4 | Funding set to expire for coordinators who help NYC’s homeless children

NY1, April 4 | As the population of homeless students rises, a critical support for them could be cut

Gothamist, March 31 | Judge: Lawsuit over pandemic-era services to NYC students with disabilities can proceed

The Guardian, March 23 | Cots, food scarcity and constant confusion: the toll of New York’s migrant shelter evictions