Showing that New York City public schools are routinely violating federal laws designed to protect students with disabilities from excessive punishment, particularly in suspension cases, investigations reveal that schools often fail to consider whether a student’s behavior is linked to their disability or a lack of required services. These failures disproportionately impact Black and Latinx … Continue reading NYC schools fail to protect students with disabilities from lengthy suspensions
Marina Marcou-O’Malley wins City & State 2025 budget poll
AQE’s Co-Executive Director, Marina Marcou-O’Malley, correctly predicted the budget would be finished on the night of May 8, winning City & State’s 2025 budget poll. This was both a reflection of her years of experience in the field and the fact that the governor kept introducing new things as part of the negotiations. She praised … Continue reading Marina Marcou-O’Malley wins City & State 2025 budget poll
NY Budget Put Politics Over Progress, Leaving Children and Families Behind
ALBANY, N.Y. (May 9, 2025) — In response to the finalization of the New York State Budget, public education advocacy organization Alliance for Quality Education released the following statement: “At a time when federal policies are gutting support for working families, New York had the opportunity to lead. This budget could have delivered real change: … Continue reading NY Budget Put Politics Over Progress, Leaving Children and Families Behind
Responding to the Senate Education Committee vote on S460
Statement from New Pride Agenda, Make the Road New York, NY Working Families Party and Alliance for Quality Education on today’s senate education committee vote on S460 Statement from Kei Williams, they/them, New Pride Agenda; Mateo Guerrero he/they, Make the Road NY; Ana Maria Archilla, she/her, NY Working Families Party, Marina Marcou-O’Malley, she/her, Alliance for … Continue reading Responding to the Senate Education Committee vote on S460
Hochul’s Late Budget Has Cut New York City’s Families Off From Child Care Support
“Starting today children in New York City are being cut off from the child care vouchers families rely on, all thanks to the political impasse that Governor Kathy Hochul has orchestrated over the late state budget — now the latest budget New York has had in 15 years,” said Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari and Marina Marcou-O’Malley, Co-Executive … Continue reading Hochul’s Late Budget Has Cut New York City’s Families Off From Child Care Support
AQE Responds to Governor Hochul’s Proposal to Weaken New York’s Substantial Equivalency Law
New York’s leaders should reject any deal that weakens substantial equivalence and the state’s responsibility to ensure a sound basic education for all students. Every young person – regardless of the school they attend – has the right to an education that includes core subjects like English and math. These subjects are not just academic … Continue reading AQE Responds to Governor Hochul’s Proposal to Weaken New York’s Substantial Equivalency Law
AQE Responds to Governor Hochul’s Budget Announcement
Black, brown, lower-income, and immigrant communities needed transformative investments: an updated Foundation Aid formula to ensure equitable school funding, significant investment in universal child care, and real economic justice. Instead, the announcement of the budget deal reflects incremental progress and continued compromises, leaving too many uncertain about their future. This repeated cycle of uncertainty over … Continue reading AQE Responds to Governor Hochul’s Budget Announcement
Mayor Adams announces expansion of free after-school programs with goal of making it universal
Mayor Adams proposed “After-School for All” expansion, priced at $331 million by the 2027-28 school year, may if implemented provide around 184,000 additional seats for public school students in kindergarten through 5th grade. Whether or not the eprogram can be truly universal and have enough seats to provide programming to any family who wants it … Continue reading Mayor Adams announces expansion of free after-school programs with goal of making it universal
Gov. Kathy Hochul announces $254 billion state budget deal
Nearly a month after the state budget was due, Governor Hochul announced a “general agreement” to pass a tentative $254 billion budget. Read the full article.
Hochul won’t rule out nonpublic school regs rollback in budget
Governor Hochul and legislative leaders are considering weakening education standards for nonpublic schools – including religious yeshivas – as part of budget negotiations, which could undermine recent stricter equivalency rules for public school alternatives. Critics warn that lowering standards, particularly for core subjects like math and English, risks harming students’ education and politicizing school accountability, … Continue reading Hochul won’t rule out nonpublic school regs rollback in budget