Testimony of the Comptroller’s Senior Policy Analyst & Strategic Organizer Lara Lai to the City Council Education and Immigration Committees

Good afternoon, Chair Joseph, Chair Hanif, and members of the City Council Education and Immigration Committees. My name is Lara Lai and I am the Senior Policy Analyst and Strategic Organizer for Education in the Office of NYC Comptroller Brad Lander. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today.  

A little more than one year ago, our office was the first to sound the alarm on the lack of additional funding from this administration for schools serving newly arrived students from families seeking asylum. In response, DOE issued School Allocation Memorandum (SAM) 65 sending additional money to many of the schools serving these students. Since then, more than 21,000 additional students have arrived in our city and enrolled in NYC Public Schools, contributing to the first increase in school enrollment in 8 years. Increased enrollment brings with it opportunity for our schools, which receive significant funding on a per pupil basis, and for our shared economic thriving. However, there are three critical and urgent issues facing immigrant students that I would like to help bring attention to today:  

1. Fair Student Funding (FSF) calculations for Students in Temporary Housing (STH) 
2. Limits on the time families with children can remain in shelter 
3. Lack of critical support for students in shelter   

Fair Student Funding (FSF) calculations for Students in Temporary Housing (STH)  

DOE played a pivotal role in crafting and funding the new Fair Student Funding (FSF) weight for students in temporary housing (STH)—something long recommended by advocates as well as the FSF Taskforce convened by the administration in 2022. However, unlike other FSF weights, DOE is choosing to base the new weight allocation for students experiencing homelessness on enrollment as of December 31, 2022. If this decision stands, schools will not receive funding this school year for changes in STH enrollment that have occurred since then.   

As Comptroller Lander wrote in a letter to Chancellor Banks earlier this month, the exclusion of these 21,000 students from DOE’s FSF calculations will deny schools serving new arrivals nearly $11 million in funding for urgently needed additional resources this school year.  

The DOE implements other FSF weights – those for students learning English, students with disabilities, and the new concentration of needs weight – via mid-year adjustments, and is even using December 30, 2023 as the cutoff for the English language learner and special education weights. So what is the educational policy reason for DOE uniquely denying funding to schools with new students in temporary housing? Without other explanation, it appears the DOE is purposely creating resource scarcity in schools with new arrivals.  

We hope members of the City Council will join us in urging the administration to reverse this decision by December 15th, in time to apply the new weight designed to provide resources for students experiencing homelessness via the mid-year adjustment, just as the DOE is doing for other FSF weights.  

Limits on the time families with children can remain in shelter 

City Hall’s decision to impose a 60-day time limit on families staying in HERRCs not only violates the court affirmed rights of families but endangers the physical and mental wellbeing of children. Just as thousands of children are settling into the safety and stability of new schools, establishing routines, and making new friends after months of hardship and trauma, this administration will force them to leave and reapply for shelter after 60 days. This policy creates unnecessary disruption for the teachers and other kids in the classroom by unsettling routines, taking time and attention away from lessons, and interrupting teaching and learning. For parents of very young children, who have received a childcare voucher through Promise NYC, it means relocation to another part of the city where there may be a wait for childcare seats and severing the connection and sense of security that their young child has found with their current provider. This policy creates instability for those providers who will lose the income from that seat when the child leaves. 

In addition to the administration’s cruel 60-day limit on shelter stays for families with children in HERRCs, hundreds of immigrant families with children have reportedly been placed in isolated hotel rooms through the City’s contracts with the Hotel Association of New York City (HANYC), according to reporting by City Limits. These families have been given no supports or services and now face a 28–day limit. 

The administration must reverse its 60- and 28-day shelter limit policies – first and foremost to uphold the City’s Right to Shelter obligations which set New York City apart as a place where our homeless neighbors still have a roof over their heads rather than sleeping on the streets by the tens of thousands in the coldest months of the year – and to ensure our City’s immigrant students are provided with the stability they need to succeed and thrive in school in a time of crisis.  

Lack of critical support for students in shelter 

Shelter-based community coordinators, family assistants, and other staff provide critical care to our immigrant students in temporary housing. Those services include:  

• enrollment and attendance support; 
• translation and interpretation services; 
• ensuring children are identified for appropriate placement in 3K/PreK programs;  
• ensuring students are screened for special education services, which not only prevents these students from falling through the cracks but helps schools secure additional FSF funding, which can mean between $500 and $9000 for schools per student;  
• identifying young adults who may have come here seeking work but are still entitled to attend high school and help them enroll in transfer schools;  
• connecting students and families to the immigration legal services needed to obtain pathways to permanent status, such as Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS).  

These workers are helping to provide the coordinated and compassionate care that all newcomer families need to get on their feet. However, these positions remain severely underfunded and at risk of future budget cuts. There are currently 100 shelter-based coordinators and 117 family assistants working in NYC shelters – that number has remained stagnant since FY23, even as the City has welcomed over 100,000 new arrivals and opened around 175 new shelters, HERRCs and respite centers. Lack of communication with schools at the HERRCs in particular is a pressing problem according to advocates. 

Seventy-five of the 100 coordinators currently working in NYC shelters are funded with $9 million in expiring stimulus funds. The remaining 25 positions are funded by $3 million in tax levy money that has not yet been baselined. Translation and interpretation services, bilingual programs provided by DOE and new bilingual transfer programs are all funded by stimulus dollars. As we provide continued oversight over the NYC budget in the face of severe cuts to critical services, we must fight to protect and expand these positions.  

Thank you again for the opportunity to testify today and for holding this important hearing. The Comptroller looks forward to partnering with the New York City Council to ensure that our immigrant students get the support and resources they need to succeed and thrive in NYC.   

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