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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Ira Yankwitt, Executive Director of the Literacy Assistance Center, on Adult Literacy Funding
5:07:43
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Ira Yankwitt, Executive Director of the Literacy Assistance Center, testifies about the critical need for increased funding for adult literacy programs in New York City. She highlights the current funding crisis and calls for doubling the baseline funding for these programs.
- Over 2.2 million adults in NYC need literacy education, but current funding only serves 3% of them
- The Adams administration cut funding from $17 million to $12 million, maintained in the FY '26 preliminary budget
- Potential federal funding cuts could eliminate seats for over 20,000 students
- Advocates are calling for doubling baseline funding to $24 million and maintaining council discretionary funding at $16.5 million
Ira Yankwitt
5:07:43
Good afternoon Chair Stevens and staff of the committee.
5:07:46
My name is Eiry Yankwit and I am the executive director of the Literacy Assistance Center as well as a proud member of the New York City Coalition For Adult Literacy.
5:07:53
As you know, there are currently over 2,200,000 adults in New York City with limited English language proficiency or who do not have a high diploma.
5:08:01
Yet combined city and state funding for adult literacy education is so limited that fewer than three percent of these New Yorkers are able to access adult basic education, GED or ESOL classes in any given year.
5:08:13
The overwhelming majority of the New Yorkers in need of adult literacy classes are poor and working class immigrants, women and people of color.
5:08:19
And while the need for adult education classes has only grown over the past two years, in FY '25 the Adams administration inexplicably cut funding for community based adult literacy programs funded through multi year contracts with DYCD from $17,000,000 to $12,000,000.
5:08:35
This reduction in funding has been maintained in the mayor's preliminary budget for FY '26.
5:08:40
Last week, the Trump administration dismantled the federal Department of Education's Division of Adult Education and Literacy, foreshadowing an anticipated cut, elimination or significant restructuring of the federal funding stream that currently provides approximately $24,600,000 a year in ABE, GED and ESOL funding to New York City.
5:08:59
The loss of all this funding would eliminate seats for well over 20,000 students.
5:09:03
According to the PMMR, there were over 18,000 students served in DYCD funded adult literacy programs in FY '24, Yet the $12,000,000 in funding for FY '25 and 12,000,000 proposed in funding for FY '26 is slated to serve only 9,118 students, just half the number of those served in FY '24.
5:09:21
Fortunately, this year the council restored the administration's cuts to services through its discretionary funding.
5:09:27
But discretionary funding is never guaranteed and it shouldn't be incumbent on the council to subsidize the administration and cover it for its failures to invest in core community needs.
5:09:36
We're calling on the administration to double its baseline funding for adult literacy programs funded through DYCD from $12,000,000 to $24,000,000 and we're deeply grateful to the council and ask that you maintain your funding for discretionary contracts at the $16,500,000 level from FY '20 '6.