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A group of parents has filed a federal class action lawsuit against New York city and state education officials over alleged shortcomings in remote learning for the city’s special needs students.
Since the pandemic began, the city’s schools have not provided special needs students with the services – including speech therapy, language assistance, in-person support and, in some cases, technology and equipment – that their individualized education plans, or IEPs, call for, the parents say. The students are falling perilously behind, according to the class action lawsuit, and the city and state must fix the “pervasive failure,” quickly.
Dissatisfied with the results of their own individual efforts to effect change, the parents of seven special needs students in the New York City school district and the guardian of another filed the class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Nov. 23.
Named as defendants in the case are the New York City and New York State departments of education, the New York City Board of Education, Chancellor of the New York City School District Richard Carranza and New York State Board of Regents and Interim Commissioner of Education Betty A. Rosa.
“From the onset of remote learning necessitated by the pandemic, defendants have failed to meet their obligations to students with disabilities under federal and state education laws,” the class action lawsuit says. “At the most basic level, [they] have failed to provide these students with the programs and services required by their IEPs.”
Individualized education programs are legal documents developed by educators, specialists, administrators and parents working in collaboration to set a plan for students who need special education. The education blueprints are usually reviewed each year and evolve to meet the student’s changing needs.
In addition to setting out which classes and courses the student will have, IEPs often call for related services such as occupational, physical and speech therapies, behavior counseling, paraprofessional support and other services.
U.S. Department of Education regulations say services prescribed by IEPs are expected to continue during periods of remote learning, lawyers for the parents who are suing say.
“Students who do not receive these programs and services can, and often do, regress,” the class action lawsuit states, and since the schools have gone to remote learning, that is exactly what has happened to many.
“While the pandemic may have made it harder to provide services, this does not discharge defendants of their legal obligations to ensure those services are provided or to remedy the educational losses suffered by students with disabilities,” the parents’ complaint goes on to say. “Defendants have failed to meet those obligations and have demonstrated no mechanism or plan to rectify those failures.”
Because the IEPs are legal documents, parents can challenge them, or challenge schools or educators they think are not abiding by them, through an established hearing process.
The plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit say that option is not adequate to deal with the pandemic-related remote learning issues. That’s due, in part, to the fact that, as of February, before the crisis began in earnest, the city’s Department of Education was already juggling 10,000 open complaints, the class action lawsuit alleges.
The parents and guardian who are serving as lead plaintiffs in the case want to represent a Class of all parents or guardians of students with special needs who are not getting the services – or compensatory services – required by their IEPs. According to the class action, there are tens of thousands of special education students enrolled in New York City schools.
They are asking the court to order the education departments and administrators to come up with a plan “which will promptly afford these students the education to which they are legally entitled—before they fall any further behind.”
Do you have a child who requires special education and has an IEP in the school system? Tell us about it in the comment section below.
The plaintiffs and the proposed Class Members are represented by Joshua Kipnees, George A. LoBiondo and Danielle C. Quinn of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyle LLP and Rebecca C. Shore of Advocates for Children of New York Inc.
The Remote Learning Class Action Lawsuit is Z.Q., by his parent, G.J., et al. v. New York City Department of Education, et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-09866, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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101 thoughts onParents of Special Needs Students Bring Class Action Lawsuit Over Remote Learning
I’m in California can I get in on this. My son was in ten hours of Aba, two hours of speech and two hours of OT.
Now that he is three he is officially in school where his services got dropped to no ABA, 15 minutes of speech and intermittent OT.
Watching him regress and not being able to get him his educational rights and not being able to fix this hurts me more than working out his SIBs which any parent of an autistic knows how hard that is.
My son is in 5th grade and he has an emotional disturbance with severe behavioral issues. Last year his IEP was changed 2 weeks before schools closed to a 2 hour school day with a one-on-one tutor because he was becoming more aggressive and violent towards students and adults in a classroom setting. His IEP already had him assigned to a specialized learning class for behavior that only had 9 other students and 3 full-time adults. He was also given extra attention and hands-on help with an aide during lessons and school work because his behavioral issues mainly occured when he was required to do tasks that he didn’t want to do. When schools closed and distance learning finally started, as expected my son refused to do any of the work assigned to him. His behavioral issues had previously caused him to fall about 2 grade levels behind and because of lack of knowledge by the school district on how to proceed with the school year virtually, he got placed at grade level which was way beyond his capabilities. So he received no education from March through the end of the 2019 school year. I figured at the start of the 2020 school year the school would be more prepared with a plan to move forward. I repeatedly asked the school if they would continue with the original IEP plan of the one-on-one tutor, but I was told there were no tutors available. Instead he got placed in a 5th grade level curriculum on an online personalized learning platform. Being able to learn at his own pace has been slightly beneficial, but he still refuses to do the work. Partially because he doesn’t understand some of it and also defiance. I have asked the school multiple times to give him some sort of extra support to help him, as well as help me. In response to my pleading with the school I receive a letter stating that my son’s IEP will be put on hold until in school learning resumes because his behavioral and emotional supports cannot be adequately fulfilled in a distance learning setting…. That was an unacceptable answer and I have been struggling for the past 2 months trying to get my son the support that he deserves and is entitled to. Thus far I have only been able to secure a 20 minute video session with the teacher from his behavioral classroom 3 times a week. These sessions only consist of positive reinforcement and coaxing to do his work because the online, grade level, learning platform is supposed to be teaching him the curriculum… All of this is about a joke. It’s been a living nightmare watching my son fall further behind while the school refuses to offer any support or even review his IEP because they don’t have the resources or the knowledge of how to help kids with special needs at this time. They are falling through the cracks when there are laws already in place to prevent all this from happening. This is a huge injustice committed by the government and the department of education that seriously needs to be addressed immediately.
I agree 100%. Unfortunately, it’s the children who need the most help who are being cast aside. My son included. Because of our lack of internet at home and his health problems placing him in the higher risk category of worse reactions to this aweful virus, my hand was practically forced to remove him from public school altogether and home school him 100% by my self. How on Earth is anyone supposed to be able to hold down even a remote job whilst trying my hardest to teach my child and make up for all the learning he didn’t receive with his public education?! Something must be done!!!
Yes, please add me. Texas
Please include me…i have a son with adhd and motor tics who has had an iep since kindergarten and hates having to do things on the computer…here in new Mexico…thank you
Im in Wisconsin and ha e a 9 year old son with Autism who is being told to log in and watch class. He has absolutely no idea what is going on and has been told to do the Iready program, of which half of he cant do without me there to do for him. This entire SCAMdemic has prevented him from the day to day personal needs he rewuires and well as set him back socially.
“SCAMdemic”?
I have 2 kids with iep I’m finally getting Speach and ot class on the tablets but my son don’t do well like this he is more of an in person child same with my daughter for her Speach. This is to much and to little being done to help.
Count me in my 17 yr old is suffering from this issue and won’t grade on time.
Please include me! Im in Georgia and my 5th grader is’nt getting the education he deserves.
We have three children who are special needs.
17 y/o son – ASD, ADHD, GAD, Anxiety, MDD, SAD
14 y/o daughter – ASD, ADHD, OCD, SAD
10 y/o daughter – ASD, SAD
All three are on IEPs and are having trouble with education and getting their IEPs fulfilled. Online schooling isn’t working for them.
17 y/o has missed the last 3 1/2 weeks due to school closures, unable to do the online schooling, and has Fs in all of his classes.
14 y/o has only been able to attend school in-person two half days since March 2019. She is the student with the most needs with all of the support classrooms at her school. She’s not able to do online nor in-person school because of her disabilities and Covid. We have been working closely with the ABA Specialist/Special Ed Coordinator to meet her needs to no avail. She (coordinator) has been patient with her, although it’s still not working. She (14 y/o) receives ABA therapy at school, but it not able to receive the needed therapy since it doesn’t work with remote learning (except speech therapy).
10 y/o has been doing online learning at home, although she is not doing too well because of her disabilities. She has a very hard time focusing on her online Zoom classes.
I understand that special ed students are having a very hard time during this time, though I also recognize that the educators are as well. We’re, and I would suspect that parents across the nation, are looking more at the lack of their children’s special needs that are outlined on their IEPs being met rather than their grades.
What can we do about this during this unprecedented time? Does anyone have any workable ideas that would actually work? As parents of special needs children, let’s work together to get this resolved.
5th Grader Wellington, Co
Remote learning with a child on an IEP since kindergarten. He’s not receiving the help and support he needs required by the IEP.