PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Daniella Rosenberg, Representative of Teach NYS
5:27:50
ยท
113 sec
Daniella Rosenberg, representing Teach NYS, addressed the NYC Council Committee on Education regarding special education services for non-public schools. She acknowledged progress made by the office of special education while highlighting ongoing concerns and offering recommendations for improvement.
- Expressed concerns about difficulties in implementing services in non-public schools and challenges in getting timely information from CSEs
- Questioned DOE's plan to increase CSE capacity and support policy implementation
- Recommended in-person information sessions for parents to supplement online resources and facilitate paperwork completion
Daniella Rosenberg
5:27:50
Sydney Allfield had to step out.
5:27:52
I am here representing Teach NYS.
5:27:55
Good evening, and thank you for having us here today, chief chief Joseph.
5:28:01
My name is Daniella Rosenberg, and I am here representing Teach NYS.
5:28:04
Teach NYS advocates for equitable government funding for non public schools.
5:28:09
While all of us here recognize there have been significant hurdles when it comes to provision of services for special education, we also acknowledge the progress made by the office of special education.
5:28:19
I'm not here to dwell on the past rather than make sure our students and families have a successful future.
5:28:25
There are two main concerns we have as we move forward.
5:28:28
We have heard frequently and vocally from our non public schools that there are many new difficulties in implementing services.
5:28:35
They have also reported that it has been difficult to get timely and consistent information from their CSEs.
5:28:40
From our vantage point, it seems like the CSEs had the capacity to deal with the old system that had been overhauled but don't remotely have the capacity to handle all the new issues that are now present with the provision of services.
5:28:52
How does the DOE plan to increase the capacity of the CSEs and make sure that the policy changes have the requisite infra infrastructure to support them on the implementation level in schools?
5:29:03
Additionally, the DOE DOE has made robust improvements to their equitable services website and the detailed information for parents down there.
5:29:10
We know from experience that parents often don't have the focus to read through online information even in cases where it'd be very, very beneficial for them to do so.
5:29:19
While we appreciate the Beyond Access series, we recommend that the DOE consider doing in person information session for parents where they could walk them through certain processes and even have the ability at these sessions to complete needed paperwork such as the parent notification of intent.
5:29:35
We are looking to forge a positive path forward as we work collaboratively to ensure our non public school students and their families receive equitable services.
5:29:43
Thank you.