Originally posted on Chalkbeat by Alex Zimmerman, YOAV GONEN, THE CITY on October 16, 2019:
This is part of an ongoing collaborative series between Chalkbeat and THE CITY investigating learning differences, special education and other education challenges in city schools.
The city education department’s inability to meet legal deadlines for resolving complaints filed by families of special education students is causing “material, demonstrable harm” — and requires an immediate fix, advocates say.
Reps from seven public interest organizations sent a letter Tuesday to top education officials charging that the department for years “has woefully failed to meet its obligations” to address special education complaints.
The group is demanding a meeting with state and city education officials to spur “immediate action” to resolve the crisis.
“These delays disproportionately affect low-income children whose families do not have the means to pay for the services they require on their own while waiting for their claims to be processed,” the advocates wrote in a letter to the state education commissioner and New York City schools chancellor that was obtained by Chalkbeat and THE CITY.
Read the full article on Chalkbeat New York.
Main Image: Ben Fractenberg, THE CITY
