New pilot program aims to guarantee seats for special needs students in 3 NYC school districts
NEW YORK - The right school for your child isn't always the one that's closest to home.
For parents of special needs children, that challenge intensifies - options and access are limited.
The city's Department of Education is trying to change that.
"This represents our value system," Schools Chancellor David Banks said.
Banks spoke at P.S. 958 in Brooklyn, and outlined a plan to improve the education experience for students with special needs.
"There are lots of high quality programs. But for far too many of our kids, we gotta send them way out of their neighborhood," Banks said. "We gotta fix this."
The gist of Wednesday's event was not accomplishment, but moreso progress, and suggestions by the Special Education Advisory Council to the Department of Education.
"A ripple that will turn into a tidal wave, transforming how children with disabilities and their families navigate our system," DOE Chief of Special Education Christina Foti said.
The advisory council was created just over a year ago to help do that, and announced five suggestions to improve the system. As a starting point, a pilot program: Special needs students in Districts 5, 12, and 14 are guaranteed seats in specialized programs. The council includes students themselves, as well as parents like Lucy Antoine, who says her son with autism had to take the bus to his specialized program, called "NEST."
"Having schools in the neighborhood is essential, because you want to have schools that are walking distance so children don't have to be bused. So we have, like, three schools in our neighborhood, but none of them had the NEST program," Antoine said.
The DOE said the three district introduction will serve as proof of concept, but did not get specific about how soon other districts may adopt similar policies. According to Wednesday's report, over 10,000 students across the city are not in specialized programs, despite being in need.
Head to Chalkbeat New York to find more of our combined reporting.
