What a night to remember! We gathered at the beautiful Memorial Art Gallery for our 5th Annual Parent Appreciation Dinner, celebrating the many ways we are Growing Together Through Advocacy. Nearly 100 guests enjoyed a wonderful evening of dinner, music, and heartfelt speeches from parents Robert Rodgers and Chrissy Miller, grandmother Debra Bullard, Board member Shanterra Randle-Mitchum, TCA's CEO Larry Marx, and Parent Leadership Manager Carmen Torres.

In her remarks, Carmen applauded parents for speaking up for their children: 

Change doesn’t happen overnight. But it does happen when parents come together and refuse to give up. It happens when you keep showing up to meetings. When you keep asking questions. When you keep telling your stories.

Those stories matter. Your voice matters. You matter.

So, if you’re just starting this journey, take that first step. If you’ve been on this path for a while, take the next one. Keep learning. Keep speaking. Keep growing.

One of the evening's most touching moments came when our planning committee surprised a dedicated 13-year-old advocate – and his proud mom, Chrissy – with a special certificate and t-shirt honoring five years of advocacy participation. It was a moment that captured everything this event is about.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made this evening so special:

The Children's Agenda joins a broad coalition of more than 450 disability, civil rights, and education organizations denouncing recent executive branch actions threatening the rights of children with disabilities. 

As stated in the sign-on letter:

"Students with disabilities deserve educational systems that are designed around their needs, rights, and opportunities, not administrative restructuring that risks disrupting critical services and protections. They deserve equitable access to education, robust protections under the law, and an intact Department of Education that is committed to their success and steadfast in defending their rights."

The enacted state budget included $250,000 to fund a comprehensive study of New York’s Early Intervention program conducted by an independent entity to identify barriers faced by families seeking timely, equitably-delivered services. This has been a longtime goal of the Kids Can’t Wait campaign, one we believe will result in actionable recommendations for improvement. 

The funds come after the legislature twice passed a bill to conduct such a study by the NYS Department of Health, only to have it twice vetoed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. We are grateful for the support of our local delegation for being champions of Early Intervention, including NYS AM Jen Lunsford, AM Harry Bronson, AM Demond Meeks, and AM Sarah Clark. The Children’s Agenda will serve as a pass-through for these funds, using a competitive RFP process to hire and direct an expert entity to conduct the study. As a rule, The Children’s Agenda does not accept government funding for our own work.

"When most people think about school suspensions, they think about discipline. They think a student broke a rule and received a consequence. What many people do not think about is what happens after the student leaves the building."

The Children's Agenda's Very Invested Parent Naishah Brown Ebanks shares the true impact of suspensions on students and families.