For NYC schools, the beginning of school has been badly marred by delays, confusion, and rejections of special education services from the DOE for children mandated by law through their IESP to receive a variety of services, including SETTS, OT, Speech Therapy, and Counseling. Of the web of issues at the core of this situation, a NYSED law that mandates parents to request services on a yearly basis by June 1st has suddenly been strictly enforced by the DOE without sufficient notice to parents or schools. This law has not been enforced by the DOE for decades, and submitting letters of intent after the June 1st deadline has never resulted in children losing services for the year or services being delayed.
At the beginning of the year, schools reached out to their Committees on Special Education (CSE) who provide the required authorizations for services on a yearly basis and received authorization lists that were hugely reduced or in some cases, received nothing at all. CSEs have been unresponsive or haven’t had answers to fundamental questions about services. Yeshivas and day schools are facing the possibility of thousands of children who previously received services being denied their needed services or receiving them only after significant delays. This issue has affected all nonpublic school students in the City and has been brought to the public eye by Catholic school parents in Staten Island as well as by many schools who have reached out to their local political officials.
The DOE has moved from their initial position that was sprung on the nonpublic school community suddenly in late August. Auto responses that told parents requesting services after June 1st that they will not receive services this year or they could inquire about placement in their local public schools are no longer going out. The DOE has backtracked to some extent saying that parents who submitted their requests after June 1st will be served but only after the students whose parents submitted their intent to participate letters before June 1.
The critical issue remains, however, that many children who are mandated for services are still not receiving them, even if parents submitted their letters of intent on time. There are several points on advocacy that are being explored, but there is a complex environment surrounding special education for nonpublic schools that makes advocacy efforts challenging. It’s important for schools to keep in close contact with their CSE’s to get updates on service approvals and try any possible avenues, including reaching out to local politicians. Wherever possible, you should document your contact with the CSE. Please also keep us informed about your communications and service approval updates. We believe that being vocal has made a difference and will continue to do so. Teach Coalition, along with coalition partners, are weighing bigger efforts and will keep you posted about those as we have more information to share.