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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Randi Levine, Policy Director of Advocates for Children of New York
10:09:04
ยท
173 sec
Randi Levine, Policy Director of Advocates for Children of New York, expresses concerns about the potential loss of funding for critical education programs and calls for increased investment in various areas of education. She emphasizes the need for continued support for preschool special education, immigrant family outreach, mental health services, and restorative justice programming.
- Advocates for baseline funding of important education programs to ensure their continuation
- Recommends additional funding for preschool special education, reading support, behavioral support, and school accessibility improvements
- Highlights the urgency of addressing the needs of students with disabilities, particularly in preschool special education where thousands are waiting for services
Randi Levine
10:09:04
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you.
10:09:06
My name is Randy Levine.
10:09:07
I'm the policy director of Advocates for Children of New York.
10:09:10
We are concerned that a number of important education programs are funded only through the end of this year.
10:09:16
If funding is not continued, hundreds of young children with autism and other disabilities could lose access to preschool special education programs in violation of their legal rights.
10:09:28
At a time when more than 600 preschoolers with disabilities are still waiting for seats.
10:09:35
And the city could lose thousands of three ks seats.
10:09:38
The immigrant family outreach initiative could end at a time when changes to federal policy make it essential for schools to be able to communicate key information to families.
10:09:49
Thousands of students at 50 high need schools could lose access to the mental health continuum while there is an ongoing youth mental health crisis.
10:09:57
The majority of restorative justice programming could end despite the importance of students learning to resolve conflicts and repair relationships instead of being excluded from school.
10:10:09
We appreciate that you, Chair Joseph, and the City Council fought for each of these programs and more last year.
10:10:17
We stand with the Coalition for Equitable Education Funding in calling on the city to baseline a number of important education programs this year.
10:10:26
While it is important to ensure that these programs are continued and baselined, the city must also do more to address pressing needs that we see in our work with families.
10:10:37
We recommend that the city add at least $70,000,000 for preschool special education evaluations services and staffing at a time when 11,000 preschoolers with disabilities are waiting for at least one of their legally mandated services to begin.
10:10:54
And 5,000 are receiving none of their mandated services at all.
10:10:59
Dollars 17,500,000.0 to expand access to small group support for students who need extra help learning to read.
10:11:07
We should not have to take legal action to get private tutoring because our public schools are not equipped to provide effective reading interventions to students who need them.
10:11:19
Dollars 3,750,000.00 to provide behavioral support not currently funded through school based mental health clinics such as training for school staff.
10:11:28
And $450,000,000 to the five year capital plan to make more schools fully accessible so that students with physical disabilities are not turned away from school because they can't get in the building.
10:11:41
More information about each of these priorities and others is in our written testimony.
10:11:46
We look forward to working with you as the budget process moves forward.
10:11:49
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you and to all of you who are here this late in the evening.
10:11:55
I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.