Inclusive Schools NYC and Disability Pride
Disability Affinity, Inclusion, and Disability Pride Student Clubs
New York City Public Schools has a citywide network of Disability Affinity, Disability Pride, and Inclusion Clubs to celebrate the identities of our students with disabilities and to support a culture of belonging and community! This initiative is under the banner of InclusiveSchoolsNYC. These clubs are open to all students in all grades.
Interested NYCPS staff or students please click the link to the interest and registration form(Open external link).
The Neurodiversity Alliance is proud to partner with Inclusive Schools NYC to offer free, student-led neurodiversity clubs for all NYC Public High Schools. This initiative will provide neurodivergent students with access to advising, leadership development, and peer support through The Neurodiversity Alliance’s innovative club model.
All schools are welcome to join the Inclusive Schools NYC movement! InclusiveSchools NYC offers resources, student mentorship opportunities, a monthly newsletter, community events, and supports for all grades pk-12 with the support and help from our partners, Parents for Inclusive Education (PIE).
Annual Student Inclusion Summit
The Inclusion Summit is an action-packed day where NYC public school students with and without disabilities celebrate diverse disability identities, build inclusive school communities, and learn from one another. The goal is to shift mindsets, promote anti-ableist and inclusive ideas, as well as incorporate the perspectives of those with lived disability experience. This year, our theme is
“WE tell our stories.” NYC Public School students can register for the spring 2025 summit using this link.
Workshops and Tabling
Inclusive Schools NYC is inviting community-based organizations to propose workshops and table for our students that celebrate disability pride, promote inclusion, and amplifying diverse voices within our inclusive school communities. To submit a workshop proposal please complete this form.
The event is co-hosted by New York City Public Schools and our proud partner Parents for Inclusive Education (PIE).(Open external link)
Disability Pride Visual Arts Contest
The New York City Public Schools Disability Pride Visual Arts Contest celebrates people with disabilities in their struggle for equity and equal access, opportunity, and inclusion. People with disabilities are proud of their identity and their accomplishments that resulted in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). NYCPS invites all NYC Public School students and teachers to join in the celebration of Disability Pride through participation in submitting an art piece that educates our communities about an element of the Disability Rights Movement, Disability identities, Disability History, or Special Education services. Artwork can be realistic or abstract.
The slogan, Nothing About Us Without Us was adopted by the Disabilities Rights movement to convey the idea that policies should not be decided by any representative without the full and direct participation of individuals with disabilities. Our hope is that students will create artwork that educates viewers on an aspect of Disability or action in the Disability Rights Movement.
Submission Process
- NYC Public School Students create a high-resolution digital file of original artwork (photograph, scanned image, saved PNG, PDF, or JPEG file for 2D artworks) .mp4 or .mov for film and .mp3 for audio files.
- Submit digital file at on.nyc.gov/psDisabilityPrideForm or through the link [SUBMISSION FORM] by Tuesday, April 15, 2025 at 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Questions: Please contact InclusiveSchoolsClubs@schools.nyc.gov
In 2024 the ten finalists and one grand finalist had their work displayed across all Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) subway stations and train cars during the month of July to celebrate Disability Pride Month.
Inclusive and Interdependent Language Initiative
The words we use are critical: how we refer to people is how we think about them. Language and how we talk about people creates our social frameworks and tells us how to treat others around us. With that in mind, we created the Inclusive and Interdependent Language Glossary as a community resource
By creating a glossary of inclusive terminology that matches student preference and best practice, and implementing these language changes both internally at NYC Public Schools and externally with the families and students that we serve, we can help create an environment that is truly inclusive and interdependent at its core.
If you identify as a student with a disability and you would like to contribute to our language initiative to reimagine the language we use to describe students with disabilities and special education, please submit to the survey.