PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jennifer Choi, Special Education Advocate and Founder of NYC Parents of Teens with Disabilities
4:45:30
ยท
4 min
Jennifer Choi, representing NYC Parents of Teens with Disabilities, testified about systemic issues in providing special education services in NYC high schools. She highlighted how schools often fail to offer mandated services like Integrated Co-Teaching (ICT) across various subjects and programs, violating students' IEPs and DOE regulations.
- Choi presented evidence of schools declining to offer ICT in world languages, computer science, CTE programs, and art schools, despite being required to provide services specified in IEPs.
- She criticized the Fair Student Funding Formula for not adequately funding special education teacher services, particularly for specialized programs like NEST, Horizon, AIMS, and PATH.
- Choi emphasized how the current system discourages schools from accepting students with more intensive special education needs, leading to discrimination and limited options for these students.
Jennifer Choi
4:45:30
Okay.
4:45:31
My name is Jennifer Che.
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I am a special education advocate and the founder of a 19 100 member group called New York City Parents of Teens with Disabilities, and this testimony has been cosigned by a 150 members within 36 hours.
4:45:49
It's still being signed, actually.
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Our families are promised that a child's IEP will be made by their own individual needs and not by the school's budget.
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But by the time we go to high school open houses, we see proof that these promises are flat out lies.
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We hear things like, we do not offer ICT in world language.
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We do not offer ICT in computer science.
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We do not offer CTE, and these are CTE schools.
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We do not ICT in CTE schools.
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We do not offer ICT in art schools, and these are art schools.
4:46:30
Don't they know that they have no right to say that they don't offer or not offer the to decline offering ICT?
4:46:40
Because if it's on the IUP, they have to give it.
4:46:43
It's not like they can say, we do not offer French or Mandarin.
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They don't have a choice in the matter.
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It's not like saying we don't offer desks and chairs.
4:46:54
But and, you know, within the testimony, we're sending you the proof.
4:46:59
Right?
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It's in the emails.
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But they act like they don't have to follow the rules.
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And we are sending you also the DOE's own rules and regulations.
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Actually, that's what it's called, rules, regulations, and resources for schools.
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And, actually, one of the people who are presenting the rules is in this room right now, and they did a great job in presenting this presentation.
4:47:27
But it doesn't matter, does it?
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Because our schools are breaking their own city's rules, and because it's called the Fair Student Funding Formula, and it's really just not very fair.
4:47:39
It pay it doesn't because the Fair Student Funding Formula does not pay fairly for the special education teacher services.
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Here's a great example.
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All of today, what did we talk about?
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We talked about the specialized programs, NEST, Horizon, AIMS, PATH.
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Does the Fair Student Funding Formula pay for these services?
4:48:03
Not really.
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It does not.
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And why is that?
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You know, and we should really note this, that these these services are great and they're not concierge services.
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They're great because they meet the individual needs of the student so that they can make appropriate progress.
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It hits the target.
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The students deserve to hit the target.
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Who said that?
4:48:30
The Supreme Court of the United States said that.
4:48:33
Oh, I'm almost done.
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I just wanted to say that I've created a chart and I sort of, it's the same chart that I brought last time.
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And this chart I created was made with an a top level DOE official, and it basically has Amanda and Ruth.
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And what Ruth has way more services than Amanda.
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Way more, like one to one teacher services.
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So she's taking up a whole teacher time.
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Why would a school want to make an IEP for Ruth?
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She's just she's just not gonna get the IEP.
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And if Ruth walks into any high school, that high school is not gonna wanna take her.
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That's it.
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They're just not gonna wanna take her.
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They're gonna wanna say things like, maybe you should go somewhere else.
4:49:19
Right?
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Because that's what our parents hear, despite the rules of the DOE saying so.
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And that's why that's why I got a 156 signatures in 36 hours, and there's more coming when I submit the final testimony at the end of the 72 hours.
4:49:37
Thank you so much.
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Please, we need your help.