The decline comes as demand for these programs, which include adult literacy and English-language classes, has spiked significantly in recent years.
After months of uncertainty, adult literacy organizations that weren’t selected earlier for city contracts will receive funding to continue their programming thanks to a one-time, $10 million infusion funded by City Council initiatives for fiscal year 2025.
Changes to the city’s funding formula for adult education programs have left some community organizations with decades of experience without contracts to continue their classes—for the time being. Six organizations that weren’t funded reported waiting lists with thousands of people.
Days before New York City’s final budget for the next fiscal year is due, both advocates and City Council members are urging that funding be maintained to reach a similar number of students served in the fiscal year that is about to end on July 1.
Federal law that protects the educational rights of homeless children and youth under 21 says young adults should be enrolled in school immediately, but the city is not meeting this requirement, advocates say. They report newly arrived immigrant youth being placed on waiting lists, told there are no spaces, or advised to take the General Educational Development (GED) high school equivalency test instead.
Advocates are sounding the alarm over both Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams’ spending proposals, which failed to include several flagship programs they’ve fought for in recent years as well as reductions to programs that provide English language, literacy and citizenship classes that immigrant New Yorkers rely on.
Some immigrants who are out of work during the pandemic are using the time to take English classes. ‘To me, this has been a relief in the middle of the sad and painful situation we are enduring,’ one such student tells El Diario.
The city is aging, and its older population includes many thousands of people who have never learned English, posing a large challenge to society that current resources are ill-equipped to solve.
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