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Contact: Frank Sobrino
O: (212) 669-4193
For Immediate
Release: October 23, 2006
Gotbaum
Calls on DOE to Account for Violations of
State
Law Concerning Disabled Students
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum today
called on Schools Chancellor Joel Klein to account for numerous
violations of New York State Education Law and Regulations concerning
students with disabilities. Gotbaum called on Klein to address
the matter immediately.
According to Registered Attendance
Class Lists prepared by the Department of Education for the week
of October 9, 2006, 241 classes exceed the class size limits specified
in the Commissioner’s Regulations and the New York City
Continuum of Services. Nearly 2,500 students are currently being
educated in oversized classes in violation of their rights under
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, State Education
Law, Commissioner’s Regulations, and the DOE’s own
policies.
“The DOE needs to take responsibility
for its mistakes and fix them,” Gotbaum said. “If
it takes a state investigation to make that happen, so be it.
But I would rather see Chancellor Klein take the initiative and
demonstrate that he is committed to providing all students with
the educational environment they need to learn.”
Overall, the classes in question are
over capacity by nearly 600 students, an average of 2.4 students
per class. On average, classes are at 131 percent of capacity.
In the most egregious case, a class with a state-mandated capacity
of 12 currently has 23 registered students. In addition, Gotbaum
indicated her office has received reliable information that not
only are classes over capacity, but a significant number of students
with disabilities have not even been placed in a class six weeks
into the new school year.
Victor Ty, whose 7-year-old son Nicholas
is autistic, said, “I am very concerned about the lack of
planning for special education by the DOE. Last year, the school
overbooked my son’s class and couldn’t provide him
with the one-on-one services he needs. He was underserved for
a good five months before I found out. This year, all six special
education classes at my son’s school are overbooked. Parents
of students entering District 75 are being told, ‘would
you rather have your children stay home or be in an overbooked
class.’ I am worried about my son’s placement in the
years to come.”
In 2004, Gotbaum released the findings
of a survey of nearly 300 school psychologists and administrators
in which 75 percent of school psychologists said they had a backlog
of students awaiting special education placements, and 74 percent
said they had been given a direct order to keep referrals and
evaluations down. The majority of the administrators confirmed
the psychologists’ reports. The Department of Education
initially denied the existence of a backlog of students awaiting
evaluation and placement but eventually acknowledged the problem
and pledged to fix it.
“I’ve been exposing problems
with the way the DOE provides services to students with special
needs for years,” Gotbaum said. “This is only the
latest example. I hope that Chancellor Klein has learned from
past experience and does not try to stonewall those of us who
are trying to get to the bottom of this very serious matter.”
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