Vulnerable populations
Despite a modest improvement, chronic absenteeism rates are still significantly higher than before the pandemic.
“You’re gonna have to take it from Peter to give it to Paul,” Rosa said of New York’s class size law.
Under the class size law, new resources could be funneled to some of the city’s better-off schools.
Beginning last fall, city officials began allowing families to select the “X” designation on official school records in lieu of “female” or “male.”
The public health crisis paused state testing, impacting how the state typically evaluates schools.
New York City’s College Choice program attempts to set up a stable future for students in foster care, who might otherwise be unable to pay for college or incur student loan debt, even with federal and state grants.
The new document updates guidance from 2015, providing information about newer state laws barring student discrimination based on gender identity.
Programs have long struggled to provide all children with the services they need, as they are legally required to do.
With just a month until the school year ends, families are scrambling to find alternate summer programs for their children.
For future school years, education department officials are bracing for some big expenses to comply with the law.
Mayor Eric Adams has proposed ending Promise NYC, which has provided free child care to 600 undocumented immigrant children.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams blasted the mayor’s approach to early childhood education, describing the system as “broken” and “in full crisis mode.
As the city expects another wave of newcomer immigrant families, educators are worried it will become even more challenging to support English learners.
In its third year, the program will again have 110,000 spots and will be open to any child in New York City — but there are a couple changes to the application process.
The education department’s spending per pupil has increased by 46%, in large part due to the billions in federal COVID aid the district received as enrollment has dipped.
New features this summer include an effort to pair LGBTQ youth with affirming jobs and a small program to serve undocumented youth.
In one significant change, students who are already attending one of the city’s hundreds of DYCD-run after-school programs will also receive priority for Summer Rising.
“It is unconscionable that the city has yet to fully close the gaps for immigrants with disabilities,” one advocate said.
The needs are high as data shows worsening mental health among young people, including more students reporting thoughts of suicide.
Details are so far scarce on what “SYEP Pride” will look like, or what will define a safe and affirming workplace, but officials are hoping to reach “a few hundred” youth.
With the majority of the school year now over, school districts haven’t been able to apply for the grant money due to a lengthy bureaucratic process.
State lawmakers required the panel to grow from 15 to 23 members, in hopes of bringing more parent voices to the body.
Data obtained by Chalkbeat suggests that the temporary policy change — first canceling the English Regents and then not requiring a passing score to graduate — made it easier for English language learners to earn their diplomas.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposals showed a deeper commitment to addressing how the pandemic impacted students both academically and mentally.
Policymakers and advocates are offering some clues for what new requirements should look like, including alternatives to the Regents exams, removing the exams as a requirement, or even creating another type of exit exam.
This final phase-in of Foundation Aid money “happens to occur in a year with the highest inflation rate since the formula began,” state education department officials said.
Only about 46% of the roughly 200 students enrolled in East River were attending daily as of November, officials said.
The $10 million initiative aims to help the influx of asylum-seeking families from South America who have come to New York City over the past several months. Previously, undocumented familes were not eligible for subsized child care.
New York’s Board of Regents requested $1 million to hire researchers and get feedback from the public on how they should change Foundation Aid for the 2024-2025 school year.
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