Leonie spoke to Jennifer Choi and Rachel Ford, parents and co-founders of Special Support Services, about what happened to kids with special needs last year during the height of the pandemic, how parents can navigate the complex and frustrating system in NYC to help ensure that their children with disabilities receive the services they need and are legally entitled to, and what suggestions they have for changing the system.
Class Size Matters report shows significant declines in citywide class sizes that will increase once again if Mayor’s budget cuts are made, March 20, 2022
Class Size Matters testimony at the Council education budget hearings, March 21, 2022
COVID Case Counts More Than Doubled in Public Schools Since Last Month, DOE Data Shows, The City, March 23, 2022
NYC education panel breaks with city to reject $82M contract, NY Post, March 24, 2022
Personal data of 820,000 NYC students compromised in hack, NY Post, March 26, 2022
Special Support Services website
NYC DOE Special Education Standard Operating Procedures Manual
How To Make Parent Support line P311 Work For Your Child
Jennifer Choi testimony at NYS Senate & Assembly hearings on School Governance, March 4, 2022
Surge of complaints by parents of special education students sparks ‘crisis’, Chalkbeat, May 28, 2019
NYC vows to address special education failures detailed in state review. But will their reforms go far enough?, Chalkbeat, July 9, 2019
NYC Special Education Complaint Backlog Grows — Even as Some Hearing Officers Twiddle Thumbs, The City, Nov. 15, 2021