Res 1473-2020

By Council Members Louis, Treyger, Chin, Rosenthal, Rose, Lander, Kallos, Ayala, Ampry-Samuel, Barron, Grodenchik, Cornegy, Salamanca, Riley, Levin and Borelli Whereas, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantees a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities in the U.S. and ensures special education and related services to those children; and Whereas, As required by the IDEA, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) provides special education services to students with disabilities, defined as any child with an Individualized Education Program (IEP); and Whereas, According to DOE, in the 2019-20 school year, there were approximately 231,000 students with disabilities, more than 20.4 percent of the total 1.1 million students enrolled in City public schools; and Whereas, In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio closed all New York City public schools effective Monday, March 16, in an effort to limit the spread of the virus; and Whereas, On Monday, March 23, 2020 DOE transitioned to providing online instruction, commonly referred to as distance learning or remote learning, to all students at home, including students with disabilities; and Whereas, Due to the pandemic and emergency closure of schools, there was very little preparation and training for teachers on how to switch to online instruction and no training provided for parents on how to assist their children with remote learning; and Whereas, Numerous media reports recounted problems experienced by students with remote learning, including lack of engagement, as well as parents' frustration over the lack of preparation and support to enable them to assist their children; and Whereas, According to parents and advocates, difficulties with the remote learning environment are even more severe for students with disabilities; and Whereas, While DOE attempted to provide students with disabilities instruction and related services, such as speech and physical therapy, via video "teletherapy" sessions, many families reported that the online therapy provided little help and their children have significantly regressed since schools were closed, as reported in a June 17, 2020 Chalkbeat article and other press accounts; and Whereas, The proposed school reopening plans for September 2020 recently announced by Mayor De Blasio and Chancellor Carranza will give families the option of selecting either a blend of in-school and remote learning for students, or continuing with remote learning only; and Whereas, It is also widely recognized that distance learning will increasingly be used by schools across the country in future years, as described in an April 24, 2020 article from The Brookings Institution; and Whereas, Families with children with disabilities face unprecedented challenges in light of the transition to distance learning, as reported in an April 18, 2020 article in The Atlantic entitled, "The Pandemic Is a Crisis for Students With Special Needs"; and Whereas, According to The Atlantic, students with disabilities require properly trained educators and many also rely on assistive technology, such as screen-reader software to read text aloud, in order to learn successfully; and Whereas, To ensure that remote learning is as effective as possible for students with disabilities, who require special instruction and services and are particularly vulnerable to learning loss and regression, it is imperative that their parents be well-prepared and receive all necessary support and materials to assist their children with remote learning; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York City Department of Education to provide families of children with disabilities the necessary training and equipment to properly enable distance learning. LS# 15006 JA 8/18/20 2