The annual dysfunction is a growing source of frustration among elected officials.

Education and children’s advocacy attorney Diana Aragundi loved school as a kid. As the eldest daughter to immigrant parents, she was also the first in her

Thousands of NYC students with disabilities are at risk of not having transportation due to an ongoing bus shortage and greater demand.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — During the first year and a half of her son’s life, Valerie Gregory did everything she could to help him thrive: She read to him, talked to him, showed up for wellness checks, and whenever possible took him to a weekly playgroup, where both mother and son had the chance to socialize with peers. At one of these gatherings, organizers brought along a standardized developmental questionnaire that helps gauge if children are hitting rough milestones for their age, like making eye contact, sitting up and waving goodbye. …

Neuman: Last week’s disappointing reading scores capture only a moment in a much longer process of instructional change in evidence-based approach.

Maria Odom, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York, issued the following statement in response to the release of the 2026 New York State English Language Arts (ELA) test scores for N...

Email your representatives in Congress and tell them to support students with disabilities and oppose the plan to restructure the U.S. Department of Education. Special education programs are *educatio...

After years of uneven responses to school-avoidant students, NYC will mandate school liaisons, staff training, and clearer rules to help students return to class.

Families of preschoolers with disabilities have long struggled to find classroom placements. Will a $67.5 million investment finally close the gap?

A new report from Advocates for Children looked at chronic absenteeism among foster youth in New York City schools.

We are pleased that Mayor Mamdani’s Fiscal Year 2027 Preliminary Budget extends and provides long-term funding for two essential initiatives that had previously been funded only through this June — pr...

Children in foster care already face significant challenges, and having their education disrupted shouldn’t be one of them. Yet far too often, that’s exactly what happens. New York City is required b...

This brief highlights key educational indicators for the 6,650 New York City students who spent time in foster care during the 2024–25 school year. The data, which were obtained from New York City Pub...

Special education programs and the civil rights office will be moved out of the Education Department, the most aggressive move yet by the Trump administration to dismantle the agency.

Advocates for students with disabilities fear that moving special education out of the U.S. Department of Education will undermine support for vulnerable students.

NYC is updating its attendance rules for the first time in nearly a decade. Under the proposal, every school must have a staffer supporting students dealing with school refusal.

Today, AFC and the ARISE Coalition (coordinated by AFC) are testifying before the New York City Council Committee on Finance regarding the Fiscal Year 2027 Executive Budget — Education.

Students in foster care are disproportionately suspended from school and have lower attendance, according to a report released Monday.

Advocates and a Brooklyn City Council member are asking the city to create a set of guidelines for how schools should respond to the presence of ICE agents nearby, and to set up a system for alerting ...

The findings raise questions about whether teacher prep programs are keeping pace with the state’s science-of-reading push.

Applications close June 26, and parents will get offers by Aug. 2. Most 2-K seats will be free 8 a.m.-6 p.m., year-round.

Maria Odom, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the changes to the Foundation Aid per-pupil funding formula in the FY 2027 New...

The increase reflects additional funds for early childhood education, transportation and materials.

The budget deal extends Mamdani’s control of NYC schools for two years and directs more money for homeless students, English language learners, and children in foster care.

Advocates say the city needs more funding for the program.

Email Governor Hochul and state legislators and tell them the final FY 2027 budget should fully fund the Foundation Aid formula and make important updates to improve the formula itself, including addi...

Advocates for Children of New York's Jennifer Pringle spoke with "News All Day."

A new Advocates for Children brief found that 63% of students living in homeless shelters are chronically absent, and 1 in 5 are forced to transfer schools.

NYC students in foster care are entitled to school bus service, but it can take weeks or more to start. Advocates are calling on city officials to invest $3 million to provide transit while they wait.

NYC launched a new curriculum finder to give families and providers a better sense of what students are learning. But some data is missing.

Every school has problem students, but some are labeled emotionally disturbed (ED) and taught separately from others.

Accessing early intervention services like speech, occupational, physical or behavioral therapy in the first years of life can lead to more than developmental gains, new research suggests.

A first-of-its-kind study has found that early intervention services — which can include occupational, physical and speech therapies, among others — improve children’s test scores, even years down the road. The study, conducted jointly by researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the New York City Health Department, showed that children who received the services between birth and age 3 outperformed similar peers on third grade reading and math tests. Early intervention services are intended for children with disabilities, developmental delays or those who are at risk of them, such as children who are born severely premature.

The move comes as other states are trying to chip away at the longstanding legal precedent that undocumented students can attend public schools for free.

Early Intervention works. A recent study of New York’s Early Intervention (EI) program found that children who received EI services were more likely to meet academic standards in the third grade. But ...

A new report is detailing just how much homelessness in New York City is negatively impacting students.

More than half of students living in the shelter system were chronically absent last year, meaning they missed one in every 10 school days.