Thousands of private and homeschooled students in New York City who are in need of special-education services have been denied crucial resources just a week before school starts, as reported by The Post. This is due to a form that was supposed to be submitted by June not being received on time.
State law requires parents of children attending private schools or those being homeschooled and approved for special-education services to send in a written request by the first of June each year. However, advocates, teachers and parents – who have been accessing resources such as occupational, physical and speech therapy for years – claim that this rule was never enforced, and they were not made aware of any deadline.
Marisol, a Bronx mom who homeschools her son and has secured occupational and speech therapy as well as a Special Education Teacher Support Services (SETSS) teacher for him for 10 years, expressed frustration with the sudden change. She said, “They pulled the rug right out from under us.” Now she’ll have to homeschool her son without the added supports.
More than 200,000 students in New York City receive Individualized Education Programs (IEPs. These programs are designed to provide therapy services and SETSS teachers from private agencies to non-public schools.
Some parents received notice from their schools that their children’s services had been denied because of the missing form, while others only found out when they contacted their district Committees for Special Education to confirm details for the upcoming school year which begins on September 5th.
An email sent by a CSE chairperson to parents stated, “New York state law provides that parents must request equitable (IESP) special education services in writing to the school district by June 1st preceding the school year for which the request for services is made.” The email went on to say that since a request was not received, NYCPS would not provide equitable (IESP) special education services to their children during the 2024-2025 school year.
Kelly, a Staten Island mother of a fourth-grader who requires occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT) and hearing services at her Catholic school, said she had over 60 email correspondences in the last year with her CSE and was not once told about the deadline or necessary form. She pointed out that if it was so important, it should have been mailed and emailed to parents.
Many parents were informed by their CSEs that one solution would be sending their children to public schools. Kelly told The Post, “We are a proud Catholic school family, and my daughter has a right to the Catholic school system without discrimination.” At least 1,000 students in Staten Island alone were affected by this rule this year, sources said. Some Catholic schools in the city have IESP populations of around 35%, according to one advocate.
These parents now fear they will have to pay for these services out-of-pocket or hire lawyers and advocates – who charge upwards of $85 for a consultation and over $2,000 to represent them in a state complaint – to fight for the services. Jennifer D., a Brooklyn mom whose son needs a SETTS teacher for 11th grade, said she was not informed about this deadline during any of her son’s regular IEP meetings. She received a letter from the city DOE stating that they are required by state law to first serve those who meet the deadline.
The state DOE did not respond to an inquiry from The Post.
These sudden changes have left many parents feeling blindsided and without options for their children’s education needs. A letter being sent to legislators calls on them to investigate this “procedural failure” and advocate for the “immediate reinstatement” of IESP services.
