Yesterday a release by Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) shows the urgent need to reject proposed cuts and provide targeted investments to support immigrant students and families, including the more than 18,000 new students in temporary housing—most of whom are recently arrived immigrants—who have enrolled in New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) in the past year.
This release, Rising Enrollment, Shrinking Support: The Urgent Need to Protect Programs for Immigrant Students Amidst Funding Threats, is timely as the Mayor’s proposed budget would eliminate funding for two programs that are helping the newest New Yorkers navigate the public school system and access a quality education for their children: the immigrant family communications and outreach initiative, which is using multi-faceted approaches to help ensure parents who speak languages other than English can access timely information about their children’s schools, and Promise NYC, which is providing hundreds of children who are undocumented with access to subsidized childcare and early learning opportunities for which they would otherwise be ineligible due to immigration status.
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“Investments in immigrant students and families are investments in the future of New York City, and right now, the need is greater than ever,” said Rita Rodriguez-Engberg, Director of AFC’s Immigrant Students’ Rights Project. “This year’s budget must restore funding for programs that are on the chopping block and ensure schools have the resources they need to support older newcomer youth.”
As Mayor Adams and the City Council negotiate the final Fiscal Year 2024 budget, the brief calls for:
- Restoration of funding for immigrant family communications and outreach so families can get key information about their children’s schools ($4M);
- Extension of funding for Promise NYC ($20M to continue serving the same number of children for a full year); and
- A $3M investment to bring the six new ELL programs at transfer schools in line with best practices for educating older newcomer youth.
