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Q&A
Preschool special education evaluation process and timelines
2:54:02
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Council Member Rita Joseph inquires about the evaluation process and timelines for preschool special education. Christina Foti from the DOE provides detailed information on current wait times and efforts to improve the process:
- About 18,200 preschoolers (half of those referred this year) are still waiting for evaluations
- 42% have been waiting for 60 days or less, while 57% have been waiting over 60 days
- The DOE has developed 21 in-house preschool assessment teams, which have completed about 2,100 evaluations
- In-house assessment teams prioritize hiring bilingual staff and promote inclusive recommendations.
- These teams help reduce delays by eliminating the need for parents to seek out external evaluators.
- The goal is to keep young students in their communities and avoid long bus trips to special education programs.
Rita Joseph
2:54:02
How many preschoolers were referred for an initial evaluation, are currently waiting for evaluation, and what percentage does this represent of the total referrers made during the current school year?
Christina Foti
2:54:14
Yeah.
2:54:15
So about half of the kids who were referred this year are still waiting.
2:54:19
It's about 18,200 students.
Rita Joseph
2:54:22
What's the timeline to get through those cases?
Christina Foti
2:54:26
So thanks to the great efforts of CPSE administrators, the wait time between initial referral and appointment with the CSE is thirty days.
Rita Joseph
2:54:39
For those currently waiting for evaluation, have they been waiting for, sixty days or less or over sixty days?
Christina Foti
2:54:45
So for the evaluation piece, it's forty two percent sixty days or less, 57%, excuse me, for over sixty days.
Rita Joseph
2:54:57
That's a lot.
2:54:58
That's a lot.
2:55:00
That's a lot.
Christina Foti
2:55:01
Chair, can I just add that we've Please, please add?
2:55:05
Thank you, Chair.
2:55:06
We've developed in house preschool assessment teams.
2:55:09
We have 21 of them now.
2:55:10
They did about 2,100 evaluations themselves.
2:55:14
We prioritized hiring of bilingual staff in those preschool assessment teams.
2:55:20
That's also where we see inclusive recommendations happening.
2:55:24
And so we are delighted that we have more and more students attending three ks and pre k of students with disabilities.
2:55:31
Those in house assessment teams, the delays, they cut down on delays because parents don't have to seek out an evaluator.
2:55:39
When we have availability, we just offer the family.
2:55:42
So that cuts down delays significantly and it's something that I'll continue to advocate for more NYCPS evaluators to provide those services in families' home languages.
Rita Joseph
2:55:53
How long were you able to do how long did it take to evaluate the 2,100 students that you evaluated in house?
Christina Foti
2:56:00
So I don't have the exact number on that, Chair, but what I can say is that given that we arranged those services, it's one that we can do very quickly for families, and that's where we see a reduced wait time.
2:56:11
It's also where we just see those inclusive recommendations that we want to see.
2:56:14
So kids then are able to go to district schools with their siblings.
2:56:18
You mentioned nine fifty eight earlier.
2:56:20
When you and I went and visited, we saw kids who were there, kids with disabilities attending with their siblings.
2:56:26
And that's the ideal, that a parent can say, My child is in preschool special education in three ks here, and my other child is in first grade general education, and we walk to school together.
Rita Joseph
2:56:38
Yeah.
2:56:38
The goal is to keep our young people, our young students, our youngest learners in community with families without having to get on a school bus and travel for hours and hours to get to a great program.
Christina Foti
2:56:48
That's very true.