PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Randi Levine, Policy Director at Advocates for Children of New York
4:10:53
ยท
3 min
Randi Levine, Policy Director at Advocates for Children of New York, testified about the challenges faced by students with disabilities in New York City public schools. While acknowledging some positive steps taken by the city, she highlighted numerous ongoing issues that families are struggling with in accessing appropriate special education services.
- Highlighted specific cases of children facing long waits for services, lack of support, and inadequate accommodations
- Addressed systemic issues including shortages in preschool special education, lack of reading support, transportation problems, and insufficient bilingual special education programs
- Emphasized the need to address these obstacles to ensure students with disabilities receive the education they need
Randi Levine
4:10:53
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you.
4:10:55
My name is Randi Levine.
4:10:56
I'm policy director at Advocates For Children of New York.
4:10:59
Thank you, chair Joseph, for holding a hearing on such an important topic and for your unflagging commitment.
4:11:05
And we also want to acknowledge that New York City Public Schools has taken some positive steps from working to improve core literacy instruction, to expanding specialized programs, to opening more preschool special education classes, though not enough to meet the need, and more.
4:11:19
Yet every day, Advocates for Children hears from parent after parent struggling to get their children with disabilities the education they need.
4:11:27
In recent months, we've heard from families anxious to help get help for their children, including a 4 year old child with autism who has been waiting for months for a preschool special education class, one of the 450 preschoolers currently waiting for a seat despite the mayor's promise that there would be a seat for every child who needed one.
4:11:46
That 4 year old's brother, who was one of the 14,400 children who never received their full preschool special education services last year and is now struggling in kindergarten.
4:11:56
A 7 year old with autism whose school has responded to the child's behavioral challenges by repeatedly asking the parent to take her child
Althea Stevens
4:12:04
home early.
4:12:04
Instead of giving him the support he needs, merely
Randi Levine
4:12:05
handing the parent a list of of community mental health resources.
4:12:12
An elementary school student who is having trouble learning to read, but whose parent was told the school did not have any additional support to offer.
4:12:19
A A student in foster care with IEP mandated bus service told that no bus company would pick up their route in the midst of a bus driver shortage and bus contracts that are more than 40 years old and are not meeting the needs of our students.
4:12:33
A student with a complex medical condition assigned to a district 75 school far from home who has been out of school because NYCPS has been unable to find a health care professional, which he needs to ride the bus safely.
4:12:46
As the city faces a shortage of paraprofessionals and other needed staff.
4:12:51
A student who cannot walk up or downstairs placed in a classroom on a floor she could not access in one of the 2 thirds of our schools that are still not fully accessible and who did not get a response to her request for a new school.
4:13:04
A student who needed a bilingual integrated co teaching class, but like the majority of students who need bilingual special education programs was never offered one and whose school rejected the parents' request for a bilingual paraprofessional explaining that they did not have the funds.
4:13:21
These are just a few examples of the families who reached out to us this year.
4:13:26
Shortages of preschool special education classes and services, lack of effective reading support for students struggling, inadequate behavioral support, challenges with bus service, lack of accessibility, failure to provide bilingual special education programs and services, shortages of paraprofessionals and other needed staff, these are all serious obstacles that students with disabilities and their families continue to experience every day on the ground.
4:13:53
We look forward to working with you to address these concerns.
4:13:56
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you.