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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
My daughter had an IEP IN TORRANCE Cali and her needs were no met. She did not learn anything she lost a whole year of education due to the online learning and nothing set up for her needs add me
I have 2 sons that have an IEP. One is in 8th grade and my other son is in 11th grade. They should both be receiving speech, OT, and counseling. Since 3/2020 our services have been VERY limited. The school does not follow the IEPS. I’m in California
My son is in high school. He is supposed to be in 10th grade. And with no help since March 2020 has not had his IEP met. Moved him from public to charter and its all online. And this school also hasnt even took his IEP into consideration. I know he has fallen behind even more than before and has.left him feeling even more stressed and failure in himself
Please add me. My daughter has an IEP here in SC and she has Autism and ADHD. And her IEP is not being followed. I have been requesting and they recommended Occupational Therapy for her gross motor delays since 2018, and even with a Dr, Note requesting this they are still not evaluating. Please add me.
We are in California and we have experienced the same lack of resources as well. Students with learning disabilities are not provided any resources for distance learning. I have had conversations and sent emails to the teacher, the principal, and the district superintendent regarding this. Nothing has been done to provide additional resources. My son Was also subjected to online bullying and racism in the online distance learning classroom, which I also reported to the aforementioned titles… nothing was done. I would love to have a way to hold them accountable!
Our son, in grade K in public school in Arizona, was being evaluated for an IEP/504 for autism related learning disabilities when the closures hit in spring 2020. His IEP was never completed- still is not a year later- and he has been forced to self-learn remotely using an ipad and zoom all day since then. It is not effective. In a recent evaluation his performance has dropped by a quarter in all areas over the past year- from an already dismal baseline measured a year ago.
Failure to initiate and complete IEP’s in timely fashion this year is also a problem.
We’re in for class action in AZ.
My child has autism. We live in SC & his iep was not met after March 13th 2020. When school started back in September 2021, his IEP for this year (which was signed April 28th 2020) has not been followed. They had a group of students that went 4 days a week. & I was told my child didn’t qualify. Never given a reason why, & I have requested an IEP meeting 4 times since September & they won’t facilitate one.
Ps. Clarification: the oldest DOES have a VALID, UP-TO-DATE, Signed and Bindng IEP.
The middle son DOES NOT have an IEP (due to their refusal to assess).
The youngest has a diagnosis (several actually, but one includes “autism” clearly spelled out), a PREVIOUS IFSP, but no IEP (due to their refusal to assess).
My grandson attend Durham education school system in North Carolina he do remote learning he is autism his mother is a teacher he does not understand about the teacher who teaches him.
My child has autism with speech delay.