Principals' Union Sends 141 Questions To The NYC DOE That Must Be Answered Before Schools Reopen

Council of Supervisors and Administrators president Mark Cannizzaro

NYC principals’ union lists 141 ‘imperative’ questions on school reopening

https://nypost.com/2020/07/25/nyc-principals-union-lists-imperative-questions-on-school-reopening/

The city’s principals’ union has sent the Department of Education a list of 141 questions it says the city must answer before reopening schools.

The list, obtained by The Post, was included in a letter to members last week blasting the DOE’s “alarming lack of preparation”  for the first day of school, tentatively set for  Sept. 10.

The Council of Supervisors and Administrators said the questions underscore the looming problems and dangers that school leaders face.

“These are questions that are imperative for the DOE to answer,” wrote union president Mark Cannizzaro.

The list includes many basic questions on safety and sanitation such as whether every school will have a nurse, who will take temperatures, when will supplies — PPE, thermometers, signage, hand sanitizer and cleaning materials — arrive, and who will staff the “isolation room” for sick kids?

They also ask about rules to handle fights between students, or how to discipline kids who deliberately sneeze or cough on someone.

Among other issues: “What should principals do if he or she “fears and/or confirms that system-wide sanitation protocols aren’t being followed?”

“If a teacher tests positive will all of their students need to quarantine?”

“If a school shuts down, will other schools that share that campus also be shut down?”

See questions:

https://www.scribd.com/document/470381059/Principal-Questions#from_embed

UFT President Says If Schools Don't Open, 100% of Teachers Will Be Teaching From Home

UFT President Michael Mulgrew

A few days ago Mike held a townhall where all teachers were remotely available. We had several UFT members on the line. 

As usual, Mike talks alot and says nothing. He said that all 3020-a hearings will start in September "as usual". Shades of Thackery Earwicket!!

We think he is smoking something. What do we do about subpoenas for NYC DOE employees, especially if they are hostile witnesses who need to be examined even though they are on the side of the DOE, and may not want to talk on zoom or anywhere else? Will the NYC DOE give home email addresses or mobile phone numbers? Will arbitrators order the DOE to bring in these witnesses? How do exhibits get to DOE witnesses? How can we, as representatives for the charged educator, make sure that no "extra" notes are in front of the witness while they are talking?

So many questions.

My own opinion is that the NYC DOE and the UFT will try to make the rubber rooms, 3020-a charging process and "teacher trials" as unfair and distressing as possible in order for educators to decide to resign or retire in despair.

This has been the goal of the two groups (NYC and UFT) for the 17 years I have been doing education arbitrations. Now it is going to be worse, to save money (as tenured teachers most often have high salaries, $100,000+). 

We are fighting going into hearings anytime soon and as always, contact me if you want to know more about what is next steps. I'd be glad to chat.

Betsy Combier

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UFT’s ‘lessen’ plan

Vows a fight if reopening is unsafe

NY POST, July 23, 2020, By GABRIELLE FONROUGE and SELIM ALGAR Additional reporting by Julia Marsh

Union officials are prepared to fight back if they think the reopening of Big Apple schools is being done unsafely, union boss Michael Mulgrew said.

“All I am going to say on this call is that I am preparing for what to do if they do that,” the United Federation of Teachers chief said Tuesday during a telephone town hall, according to a Department of Education source who heard the remarks.

Teachers are prepared to take court action, protest and other organizing actions but aren’t currently discussing a strike, union sources told The Post Wednesday.

Already 4 percent of teachers, 3,000 in all, have filed for medical accommodations so they don’t have to return to class, but that number is expected to surge.

“It will be many more,” Mulgrew told union members, adding no requests have been denied.

One thing’s for sure: Remote learning is here to stay and will account for at least 60 percent of instruction even if kids return to school, Mulgrew said.

“If we do not open, we are 100 percent remote. All instruction will be done remotely. If we do open, a minimum of 60 percent will be done remotely,” the union chief said.

“The remote instruction really needs to be built out because that is the majority of instruction that will be done next year no matter what,” he went on, adding that schools are “very behind on the instruction side.”

Mulgrew said if he were asked about whether schools would reopen, his answer would be “no,” but if the DOE provides sufficient money for safety equipment and puts adequate reopening plans into place, he could see kids returning to class.

Meanwhile, city parents won’t know if schools will reopen in September until just before the start of the academic year, Mayor de Blasio said Wednesday.

While he previously vowed to throw open the doors on schedule, de Blasio was more circumspect during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Wednesday.

Hizzoner said the city’s current coronavirus trends should allow for a partial reopening of the nation’s largest school system, but cautioned that circumstances could shift, given the nature of the pandemic.

“We’re going to make that judgment when we get right up on the beginning of school in September,” he said. “It’s got to be about safety first. So from my point of view, you do everything possible to make the school environment safe: social distancing in the schools, face coverings, constant cleanings, and a lot of kids will stay home.”

De Blasio also indicated that full-time in-class lessons won’t resume until the development of a coronavirus vaccine.

“The day we get to the vaccine is the day we’ll really go to full, fivedays-a-week normal instruction in our schools,” he said.

Gov. Cuomo has previously stated that his office will assess the state of the coronavirus crisis in the first week of August before deciding the fate of schools.

CSA Blasts the Failure of the NYC Department of Education To Plan For a Proper Reopening of Schools in September

Mark Cannizzaro

This is good. Now the Principals' Union CSA agrees with the general consensus of parents and teachers that the NYC Department of Education is unprepared to  open in September.

The NYC DOE must set up distance learning the right way, and keep schools closed until there are sufficient safety measures to assure everyone that all are safe inside the building. There is no substitute.

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Principals union rips ‘alarming’ lack of DOE preparation for school reopening

By Susan Edelman and Selim Algar

, NY POST, July 23, 2020

The city principals union blasted the Department of Education’s “alarming” lack of preparation for a system reopening Wednesday — and warned that a September resumption looks “less likely” each day.

In a letter to members, Council of School Supervisors and Administrators president Mark Cannizzaro scorched the DOE for a cascade of blunders — from insisting on professional development training in the midst of coronavirus chaos to rolling out a “poorly implemented” summer program to its uncertain embrace of a hybrid teaching model.

“You have done everything the DOE has asked of you from the onset of this pandemic, and your frustration with this alarming lack of direction is beyond understandable,” he wrote to the group’s members. “CSA knows that without clear guidance and support on protocols and issues of safety, staffing, and programming, your tasks are unrealistic and insurmountable.”

Cannizzaro warned that the bungling has made the already shaky prospect of an on-time September reopening even more uncertain.

“Yet, through no fault of your own, as each day passes without clear guidance and safety assurances, it becomes less likely that we will be ready to reopen in September,” he said.

Cannizzaro said the DOE ignored union objections to mandatory training programs in the midst of a pandemic because the agency felt the lessons were “too valuable to miss.”

“I find it hard to believe and extremely misguided that you are being asked to concern yourself with anything other than reopening plans for the remainder of the summer,” he said.

With principals in an uproar, the DOE agreed to push back a deadline for individual school reopening plans until the middle the August, according to the letter.

“It is our hope and expectation that DOE uses this time efficiently and appropriately guides, directs, and answers you in a manner it has not done to this point,” he said.

Cannizzaro’s letter also skewered the department for asking principals to complete a reopening survey that did “not address the real and practical concerns our team has surfaced centrally, nor many questions you have raised in the field.”

“Ultimately it is the responsibility of the DOE to set policy and provide resources required to implement their plans,” he said. “Although this should not have to be said, no less repeated, it is also the responsibility of the DOE to clearly communicate those plans to you directly. Unless and until the Chancellor’s team has done so, no plans are final or definite despite what you may have heard.”

With the scheduled start of school fast approaching, the DOE is facing double-barreled union resistance to its reopening timetable.

Teachers union boss Michael Mulgrew told members this week in a conference call that the organization would actively resist a resumption of school if a slew of safety and operational demands were not met.

Under increasing pressure on multiple fronts, Mayor Bill de Blasio softened a pledge to reopen the nation’s largest public school system on time this week, saying a final decision won’t come until the cusp of the new academic year.

The DOE said Thursday it was fully engaged with both unions and pushed back on Cannizzaro for the tone and timing of the missive.

“The health and safety of our principals is a top priority, which is why we regularly meet with the CSA and UFT leaders and members in large and small groups, engage in follow up conversations, await their sign off on key policies, and collaborate on the timing of announcements,” said spokeswoman Danielle Filson. “Now is not the time to stoke fear and anxiety amongst school leaders and we will continue, in partnership with CSA, to work around the clock to develop guidance that aligns with this evolving health crisis.”

NYSUT and AFT Demand That School Districts Follow Guidelines For Health and Safety If Considering Reopening

UFT President Michael Mulgrew

Apply for a remote work accommodation

FROM the UFT July 15, 2020:

Dear UFT Member,

The Department of Education’s systemwide reasonable accommodation process opens today. You may submit an online application if you are considered at higher risk of severe illness if you contract COVID-19.

The UFT got the Department of Education to streamline its reasonable accommodation process. We wanted to make sure that everyone who is eligible to work remotely would be approved before the start of the school year in case school buildings open in September. That would never have been possible under the old system.

You are eligible for an accommodation to work remotely if school buildings reopen if:

– you are at least age 65 as of Dec. 31, 2020; or
– you have an underlying medical condition as set forth by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

If you are applying based on your age, you do not have to verify your age or provide any other medical documentation.

If you are applying based on your health, you must provide a signed document from a licensed medical practitioner clearly stating what your underlying medical condition(s) is, andhow it places you at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

Please use the DOE’s Self-Service Online Leave Application System (SOLAS) to apply for an accommodation.

https://dhrnycaps.nycenet.edu/SOLAS/

Read these step-by-step application instructions (you must be logged in to the DOE employee website to access them).

According to the legal definition under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a reasonable accommodation can only be granted to the person with the medical condition. We are still in discussions with the city and the DOE about other personal circumstances we know our members face.

The reasonable accommodation process is open to all DOE employees. The UFT strongly encourages all members who wish to have an accommodation to work remotely to apply now.

For more information on the DOE’s reasonable accommodations policy, visit the HR Connect Employee Portal (you must log in with your DOE User ID and password) and search for “COVID-19 Reasonable Accommodations.”

The DOE’s Office of Disability Accommodations and its Division of Human Resource’s Office of Medical, Leaves and Benefits will review applications. The review will be done in accordance with the reasonable accommodations process under the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you are denied an accommodation, you may reapply if you have different or additional documentation.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact us at 212-331-6311. You may also email the DOE at RArequest@schools.nyc.gov.

Stay safe and healthy.

NEW YORK CITYDEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONSCHOOL BUILDING RE-OPENINGPRELIMINARY PLANNING OVERVIEW
June 9, 2020

NYSUT, AFT demand school districts follow state Department of Health guidance for reopening

Submitted

Mon, Jul 20th, 2020 09:50 am

New York State United Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers have demanded school districts follow school reopening guidance issued by the governor and state Department of Health that mandates social distancing, reduced occupancy and the use of masks, among other safety measures.

The unions made the call amid reports of confusion over such requirements at the local level as districts develop their individual reopening plans.

“With the clock ticking for districts to develop and submit reopening plans, there is no time for ambiguity,” NYSUT President Andy Pallotta said. “We’ll say it again: Health and safety, as well as equity, are absolutely essential in planning for the fall. The Department of Health issued clear guidelines regarding social distancing and masks. There’s no reason districts should be guessing at what the safest option for students, staff, and the entire school community is.”

“Frankly I was shocked when I saw an interpretation of the minimum guidance on safely reopening schools that suggested that a district could choose masks or physical distancing. Working with fellow members of the governor’s Reimagine Education Advisory Council, we developed strong guidelines for how to keep our schools safe, if districts moved forward with some form of in-person instruction. And that guidance was spelled out in Gov. Cuomo’s reopening schools safely plan. It’s not an either/or; physical distancing or physical barriers are absolutely necessary in schools, as are masks. Masks are strongly recommended at all times, and absolutely are required if it is impossible to physically distance, as in hall passing,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said. “Parents need to feel confident that if they send their children back to school it is safe, just as educators need to feel equally as confident that it will be safe for them. We can’t have confusion at this stage. Districts need to get this right.”

According to the DOH guidance:

√ Districts must ensure there is proper social distancing on school grounds and in school facilities. “Specifically, appropriate social distancing means 6 feet of space in all directions between individuals or use of appropriate physical barriers between individuals that do not adversely affect airflow, heating, cooling or ventilation, or otherwise present a health or safety risk.”

√ Even with face coverings in use, occupancy of spaces, such as classrooms and other small spaces, “should not exceed 50% of the maximum capacity of the space, unless it is designed for use by a single occupant.”

√ Face coverings must be worn “any time or place that individuals cannot maintain appropriate social distancing.” Further, face coverings are “strongly recommended at all times, except for meals and instruction with appropriate social distancing. However, responsible parties can require face coverings at all times, even during instruction; and it is strongly recommended in areas with higher rates of COVID-19 community infection.”

√ Other health and safety measures must also be in place.

NYSUT and AFT “believe all of these requirements must be met and are unequivocally necessary before anyone returns to the classroom.”

“We must get this right,” Pallotta said. “We will not jeopardize the health and safety of students, educators, and families by agreeing it’s safe to go back without these requirements in place.”

New York State United Teachers is a statewide union with more than 600,000 members in education, human services and health care. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and the AFL-CIO.

NEW YORK CITYDEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONSCHOOL BUILDING RE-OPENINGPRELIMINARY PLANNING OVERVIEW

June 9, 2020

Betsy Combier
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Teacher Arthur Goldstein: Why the NYC Mayor's Reopening Plan Fails

It's essential to children and teenagers to interact with both peers and authority figures, but not at the expense of people's lives. (Photo credit: Stephan Jeremiah)

Arthur is absolutely correct in his opinion about Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan for reopening schools. He says that "The mayor’s plan is a mess". I think he is right.

Ideally, the best scenario would be for all children to return to their classes and interact personally with teachers and friends. This cannot happen safely now or in September. It is unfortunate that adequate planning has not been done to provide effective remote learning programs, despite excellent teachers' best efforts. 

Online curricula, attendance data, and grading/assessments are confusing, useless, or not applied. We don't know how many students are actually doing any work and we don't have accurate numbers of teachers who are doing live teaching. Let's give teachers a chance to learn the latest techniques for on-line teaching, and let's honor their concerns about the health and safety of students, staff, and themselves. The lives of teachers, staff, and students must take precedence over any other concerns.

If you work for the NYC DOE and you are interested in applying for accommodations and or remote teaching, go to these links:

Info on working remotely (to avoid Covid 19). 

https://doehrconnect.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/7163#Work%20from%20Home%20and%20Alternative%20Work%20Schedules%20Standard%20Operating%20Procedures 

And reasonable accommodation:

https://doehrconnect.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5555.  

I think that all full-time general education teachers should refuse to go into a classroom until all safety measures are clearly in place. Strict guidelines for the safety and welfare of guidance counselors, therapists, and special education staff and educators at all levels should be put into place so that children who need these services get them. 

These actions can all be placed into the category of "accommodation" which is now and has been in recent times, falsified, not complied with, or delayed in many schools throughout New York City. Let's put a stop to fudging the books to look good.

A basic problem is that there is no effective leadership, and I emphasize the word "effective". Mayoral control guarantees this, as Bill de Blasio has shown all too well.The NYC Department of Education right now is a disaster, both in terms of financial as well as employee accountability. Student violence is rampant, and personnel decisions are made on the basis of who you know rather than merit, and yes, what race you are. 

I work in the area of educator discipline, and I know how unfair, political, arbitrary and capricious the process for discontinuing and/or terminating tenured or untenured educators really is, and I write about it because I do not work for the DOE.

Richard Carranza was chosen for political reasons, not because he was or is a magic bullet to erase the inequalities within the public school system in New York City. He is way out of his league here, as is our Mayor.

Step number one for providing "effective" management in times of COVID-19 is the re-design of the supply chain/allocation of money and resources. For instance, student funding is based on "seat time", i.e., the actual bodies filling chairs in each classroom. This needs to be reviewed and changed to fit the present circumstances. 

We also need to get rid of excessive administrators whose responsibilities are duplicative of others at the same level and create two new positions at the top of the DOE:

1. A business analyst whose responsibilities include: removing fraudulent spending; re-designing school budgets so that unnecessary expenditures are put into essential service provision or discarded, and setting a clear path for cost-effective management of the $34 Billion dollars handed over to the NYC DOE every year. 

2. An education planner who refuses to buy into the cancel culture left- or right-wing anything, and for the first time in memory puts kids first with valid policies for learning that allows all children, from all across the special needs spectrum  including gifted and talented as well as 2e children what they need to achieve their personal bests. People so visibly on one side of the political spectrum need not apply. Politics does not belong in education that is color- gender- and age blind. Diane Ravitch - we value your service, but we need people who are not so narrow-minded in helping children that they don't value ideas contrary to yours.

Both new people and their recruits should be given the right to investigate, manage, and implement programs and guidelines appropriate to establish the business side of the NYC DOE as a well-run entity for decades to come. These Directors or co-chancellors (or whatever their titles) must be held accountable to the public by monthly online summaries with details on  everything they are doing, and this transparency must be the desired goal for all parties in the mix.

Use the NYC DOE money to hire a full-time accountability wizard whose sole job is to find accurate data for public view in a timely fashion. Give this person immunity for whistleblowing, unless he/she falsifies records intentionally. Establish personnel safeguards so that no one can be fired because of personal jealousy, individual dislike, or any other improper probable cause.

New people and their recruits should be given the right to investigate, manage, and implement programs and guidelines appropriate for the implementation of the business side of the NYC DOE. These Directors or co-chancellors (or whatever their titles) must be held accountable to the public by monthly online summaries of everything they are doing, and this transparency must be the desired goal for all parties in the mix. Use the NYC DOE money to hire a full-time accountability wizard whose sole job is to find accurate data for public view in a timely fashion. Give this person immunity for whistleblowing, unless he/she falsifies records intentionally. Establish personnel safeguards so that no one can be fired because of personal jealousy, individual dislike, or any other improper probable cause.

Most important is putting in place new consequences for proven non-compliance. Anyone, at any level, who does not comply with agreed-upon statutes and guidelines is punished except in exceptional circumstances. As the public wants the punishment equal to the crime, mediate outcomes with a panel of people, not just one person. This panel must give a decision within a limited time-frame, 30-60 days.

Arthur - you say that it would be "inconvenient" if you got sick and died from COVID-19. Here's where I differ with you, it would be a catastrophe. A single death from this horrible disease is a disaster. Keep doing what you are doing, we need to hear from you.

Stay well. 

Betsy Combier
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Students attending large, overcrowded schools like Francis Lewis HS (above), may only be able to meet in classrooms once a week — which is insufficient for their education.NY Post/Chad Rachman

Why de Blasio’s school reopening plan fails students and teachers alike

by Arthur Goldstein, NY POST July 18, 2020

Many people argue it’s important for the social and emotional well-being of our students to be in school. That’s not even debatable. It’s essential for children and teenagers to interact with both peers and authority figures. They must practice skills to navigate our world.

It’s curious, then, that Mayor de Blasio’s reopening plan accomplishes none of the above.

Depending on how crowded schools are, most students will come to classes once every two or three days to allow for social distancing. At large, overcrowded schools like mine, they might come as little as once a week. They will sit far apart from one another. They won’t be able to interact with teachers or each other the way they usually did. It would become our sad duty to enforce not only physical separation, but masking as well. It’s hard to understand how we help students when we can’t even look at their work — let alone their faces.

The Department of Education offers an option for students to learn remotely full-time, and if my kid were still attending, I’d keep her home. The mayor’s plan is a mess, and he hasn’t considered some very important factors.

The worst thing about the plan is it utterly ignores students who aren’t in attendance. While I teach nine or ten students at a time in the building, what will my other 25 students be doing? If I repeat the same lesson for each group in the building, I won’t have time to cover even half the curriculum. With budget cuts, the city can’t afford to hire more teachers to do online what we do in class. To me, that doesn’t scream “equity and excellence” — the mayor’s mantra.

I remember the city’s miserable and inept approach to containing COVID-19 last March. I therefore have applied to teach solely online in September. At my age, 64, it would be inconvenient to get sick and die from COVID. Unsurprisingly, many younger teachers feel the same. They send me, their chapter leader, e-mails suggesting it would be just as terrible for them, their children, and their elderly parents and grandparents. This should come as no surprise to the mayor. Otherwise, why did he offer families the opportunity to opt children out of learning in buildings?

There are things worth fighting for, and things worth dying for. A barely thought-out, outlandishly stupid system that serves no one well is simply not one of them. If the mayor and chancellor were really concerned about giving students the best experience possible, they wouldn’t ask them to risk their lives and those of their families for no good reason.

Remote learning is far from ideal. It falls short of the rich experience real classroom learning provides. Still, it’s a whole lot better than what the mayor envisions. And there are some simple ways to substantially improve it:

Do real classes online. Have students show their faces instead of hiding behind avatars. Every teacher knows students who came to Zoom classes and never answered a question because they were sleeping, playing video games, or otherwise occupied. And let’s make attendance (not just checking in) and class participation requirements.

Give teachers real training instead of wishing them luck and hoping for the best. Online, we can speak to all our students at once. We can break them into groups. We can see their work in a program like Google Classroom, and comment on it live. We can watch them take tests, rather than simply hoping their smart girlfriends aren’t doing the work for them.

Use school buildings for real social and emotional needs. Let a limited number of students in to see counselors, nurses, doctors and social workers. Let them socialize safely, which they could not do in class. If technology or home conditions are difficult, let’s give students and teachers safe, quiet space in buildings to work online.

Chancellor Richard Carranza repeatedly says, “We’re building the plane as we fly it.” Let’s drop this slapdash approach and wait until it’s safe for all of us to go back to what we know and love. Premature returns to school have backfired in Israel, Hong Kong, Beijing, and South Korea, where COVID-19 made comebacks. Following in their footsteps is a bad idea for New York.

Arthur Goldstein teaches English as a new language at Francis Lewis HS.

Parent Activist Patrick Donohue Sues the NYC Department of Education For Neglecting Special Needs Kids During COVID-19

Patrick Donohue (Credit: Brigitte Stelzer)

Parents were furious with the NYC DOE way before the pandemic created a firestorm for special needs kids.

And this extreme frustration occurs nationwide.

Children with special needs must have supporting services and providers, often for every minute of the school day. The providers of these services - i.e. occupational and/or physical therapy, ABA, TEACCH, 1:1 paraprofessional, etc. - cannot and have not been effectively used or provided for the past 5 months (and decades), in schools throughout America. Often it is only after the parent(s) have spent every penny they have with paying for lawyers or tuitions for private schools, that the mandated services are given.

As a parent advocate who does Impartial Hearings, IEP review meetings, and anything else that  I need to do to get a child all the services and resources needed, I know what a culture of lies the NYC DOE promotes in order to not have to pay for the support these kids are mandated by law (U.S. Department of Education’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, "IDEA") to receive.

During COVID-19 there have been severe shortages of providers and thus service implementation of programs and resources to these kids.

Mr. Donohue is right to make a Big Thing about this.

If you believe you have a claim, see below for contact information:


National Class Action lawsuit to force the schools to reopen and provide services to students with special needs as well as compensate the parents for them doing the job of the school districts for the past five months (and the students getting compensatory services to make up for their missed services).

There are over 200 families that have already signed up from more than 20 states (and it is growing by the hour). Families can either go directly to the website to enroll: www.BrainInjuryRights.org or call the toll-free hotline: 888-927-4332 (888-927-IDEA). 

or,

Alicia Alba <alicia@pabilaw.org>	3:20 PM (48 minutes ago)
to me

Hi Betsy,

I am the parent coordinator for the class action lawsuit.  We are currently still accepting eligible children (any child with a disability/IEP).  If you would like to take part or would like to share the information with your advocacy groups, you can find our online form at: 

https://braininjuryrights.org/ 

For the direct link to the online form you can use this link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSckiiEoTSqB0a6XxmKNFeRoavHSxC4dIquZRTKHUK92DWE2Ow/viewform

If you have any questions, please let me know.

With Kind Regards,

Alicia

Alicia Alba | Program Associate 300 East 95th Street, Suite #130 New York, New York 10128 Tel. 646.850.5035 | Cell 917.545.5055 braininjuryrights.org

Betsy Combier
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Lawsuit rips schools for abandoning special needs kids amid COVID-19 pandemic

Selim Algar, NY POST, July 16, 2020

School districts across the country have abandoned special education kids amid the coronavirus crisis, according to a class action Manhattan federal lawsuit slated to be filed Friday.

The case argues that districts ignored federal law by failing to provide legally mandated services to kids who suffer from mental and physical deficits after the closure of schools in March.

“These school districts violated the rights of 6.7 million students across the country by altering their educational programs,” said parent and activist Patrick Donohue. “They put the burden on parents to do the job of these school districts.”

The case names Mayor Bill de Blasio, Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, and districts across the country as defendants.

Backers of the suit will release radio ads in New York to draw attention to the ongoing plight of special education parents.

Two hundred families in 10 states have signed on as plaintiffs so far, arguing that remote learning models have been inadequate for special education kids who often require one on one assistance.

“These programs are federally protected,” Donohue said.

The case is demanding the resumption of full-time in-person special education for impacted kids, fresh evaluations for badly regressed children, compensation for parental expenses incurred during remote learning, and funding for additional staff.

If programs don’t fully resume, the case is pushing for districts to give parents a “blank check” to provide adequate independent services for their children.

“The districts have totally abandoned these families,” said Donohue, who has a disabled teen daughter and has frequently warred with the DOE over her education.

He noted that the city furnished learning centers for the children of emergency workers during the prior school year but made no similar accommodation for special education students.

“There are horror stories from across the country,” Donohue said, highlighting a mother with two autistic kids who was forced to quit her job in order to take care of her kids after in-person services were suspended.

He also ripped remote learning for disabled kids as wholly ineffective.

“In many cases, the local school districts failed to even provide live synchronous service to these students while they were home,” he said.  “Instead, the responsibility for ‘remote learning’ landed squarely on the shoulders of parents across America.”

A DOE spokeswoman said the department prioritized health concerns when it shuttered schools and was compelled to move to remote learning.

“We quickly moved to remote learning, including special education services in order to provide students with disabilities with continuity of services during the pandemic,” said Danielle Filson. “This summer, we are offering in-person related services for our students with disabilities. We are acting in the best interests of our students while following health guidance and will review the lawsuit.”