TESTIMONY
Molly Senack, Advocate, Center for Independence of the Disabled New York on Remote Learning Challenges for Students with Disabilities
1:56:12
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3 min
Molly Senack highlights the remote learning challenges faced by students with disabilities, emphasizing the need for accessible related services.
- Senack addresses the impact of remote learning on both disabled and non-disabled students, noting that mere attendance does not equate to success.
- She reveals that students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) often miss out on crucial services like speech or occupational therapy during remote sessions.
- A citywide survey showed a significant percentage of students did not receive all their related services on a specific day, underscoring the issue's pervasiveness.
- Senack cites a federal class action complaint detailing failures in providing necessary services and technology to students with disabilities.
- She advocates for investment in resources and hiring in special education to address service provision challenges amid remote learning.
Molly Senack
1:56:12
Hi.
1:56:13
My name is Molly Senek, and I am testifying on behalf of center for independence of the disabled New York.
1:56:20
So both disabled and nondisabled students obviously had a lot of trouble attending class virtually on February 13th.
1:56:28
However, the school day does not stop once you log on.
1:56:32
That is not automatically a successful school day just because you are technically able to attend.
1:56:37
Students with disabilities face a unique issue when it comes to remote learning.
1:56:42
A student with an IEP is entitled to related services such as speech therapy or occupational therapy, and sometimes those services are not offered remotely.
1:56:53
According to a citywide council on special education survey that they sent out the week of this snowstorm, 27% of students enrolled in a district 31 through 32 school did not receive all of their related services remotely on February 13th.
1:57:10
Nor did 36% of students who were enrolled in a district 75 school in order to count as and that just means that they own they could have only received a service if that in order to count as receiving some of their services.
1:57:24
So those numbers are unfortunate, not only because students missed out on supports that actively help them engage in their learning, but because this issue was not unexpected.
1:57:35
In the 18 months, that New York City public school incorporated some form of long term remote learning into class schedules, tens of thousands of students missed out on their mandated services resulting in the filing of a federal class action complaint ZQ versus the NYC DOE by advocates for children against both the city and the state of education.
1:57:57
So that complaint not only states that children were not necessarily receiving technology and their services, it also says that they were not provided with compens statutory services in a timely manner.
1:58:08
So this complaint was initially filed in November of 2020, and its 2022 dismissal was reversed in 2020 So the DOE cannot say that it did not anticipate challenges in providing students with disabilities the supports they are entitled to remotely.
1:58:24
Investments need to be made in providing resources for families whose children might face additional struggles with learning remotely.
1:58:32
So these include finding alternatives or compensatory options for mandated services that require a physical presence like occupational therapy.
1:58:41
Providing more interpretation services, and investing in more hiring in special education in general.
1:58:47
So that existing short of instructors and providers of related services are not further exacerbated by a change in a learning environment.
1:58:55
If a pivot to remote learning in emergencies like a snowstorm is going to be the standard for New York City Public Education, Figuring out how to provide related services remotely has to be as much of a priority as figuring out the technical issues that prevented students from logging on in the first place.
1:59:13
Because both issues prevent students from being able to participate in their own education.
1:59:18
And students with disabilities are less likely to have that lost time made up to them.
1:59:24
Thank you so much.