Staten Island parents outraged after city denies some students in non-public schools special ed services

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — After outraged families across New York City, including Staten Island, learned their children who attend non-public schools wouldn’t receive special education services for the 2024-2025 school year, city education officials stated they are working to provide supports for those students.

Several Staten Island parents who send their kid to private or Catholic school said they were informed by the city Department of Education (DOE) that their child would be ineligible for special education supports for the 2024-2025 school year, because a written request was not submitted by a June 1 deadline.

The first day of public school was Thursday, Sept. 5.

State law requires parents to send a “letter of intent” by June 1 for special education services for kids in non-public schools, like Catholic, private, or home-school settings — known as the Individualized Education Services Program (IESP). It ensures students have supports such as occupational, speech, or physical therapies, medical accommodations, and other academic accommodations, like more time on exams.

It’s a deadline that many Staten Island parents said the city had not enforced until this year. Some also stated they were not notified of a deadline by the city or otherwise.

Kelly, a parent of a Staten Island fifth-grader who attends a Catholic school, said her child had an annual evaluation of services in April, and she wasn’t notified of the deadline at that time. She added she also wasn’t told of the deadline even after communicating with the District 31 Committee for Special Education (CSE) about additional services her child would receive for the upcoming school year.

“They never said a word to me,” she stated.

She posted on social media to urge other parents to confirm their child would receive services in September. About four or five families reached out to her since then with the same issues.

“They were never notified,” said Kelly, who asked that her last name not be used in this report. “They had to reach out to CSE to find out. So what happens when providers don’t show up this week and next week? I guess that’s when parents are going to start realizing, because they failed to notify parents that they’re not getting services.”

The DOE confirmed to the Advance/SILive.com that it is tracking inquiries received from families who did not submit a request by the June 1 deadline. The agency said it will work to provide supports — once all families who submitted by the deadline are served first.

“Over the past decade we’ve seen an exponential increase in filing for special education services by families attending private or parochial schools, and not seeking a public school education,” said Nathaniel Styer, spokesperson for the DOE. “The June 1st deadline exists in state laws and regulations and is a longstanding requirement, and one of many controls NYCPS [New York City Public Schools] must follow to help ensure public money is supporting students who genuinely require services. We are required by law to first arrange services for families that submit requests by the deadline, but we will always engage families, including those who didn’t meet the deadline, and seek to serve them as soon and as best as we can.”

Many parents who spoke with the Advance/SILive.com explained they did not know that services wouldn’t be provided for this school year until they reached out to the CSE directly.

A generic statement was issued via email to borough parents last month about the denied services.

“New York state law provides that parents must request equitable (IESP) special education services in writing to the school district where their child’s private school is located by June 1st preceding the school year for which the request for services is made. Your request was submitted after the June 1, 2024, deadline. Therefore, NYCPS will not provide equitable (IESP) special education services to your child during the 2024-2025 school year,” stated the email, acquired by the Advance/SILive.com.

Eileen, a parent of a high school junior at a private school on Staten Island, stated that her child has been receiving an IESP since pre-K, and this is the first year the deadline was enforced. She said she is concerned that the lack of services — such as accommodations like extra time to take college entrance exams like SATs or ACTs — will negatively impact high school students.

“I don’t know if they had budget cuts and they needed to cut, or tried to find a loophole. That’s what it sounds like to us,” she said, requesting that her last name not be used in this report.

The statement from the CSE to parents also offered the option to instead place their children in a public school to receive special education supports. It’s something that displeased families, many claiming the statement to be discriminatory against parents who choose to send their child to a non-public school.

“I was told, verbatim, if I want my services back — to take my kids out of their Catholic school and put them in public school, and then I can have them back,” said Alexis Petruzzelli, a parent of an eighth-grader at a Catholic school on Staten Island. “To me, that was discriminatory.”

Some parents are opting to pay for some services for their children while they fight for processed requests. Kelly said she will be paying for only some services for now — as paying for all the services her child needs would cost upward of $400 a week.

Petruzzelli also expressed concern for the providers who will be out of contracted jobs to provide these important special education services. Many of them, she explained, are paid per session. She said she’s worried that providers will leave to find other jobs — and won’t be available if services are returned.

“Many of these people did not get paid over the summer, and are now coming back to a job that either has no children to serve or [going to other schools.] You’re putting out the kids and service providers,” Petruzzelli explained.