BILL NUMBER: S911A
SPONSOR: LIU
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring that all
special education students attending schools scheduled to be closed or
to undergo a significant change be assigned to new schools prior to the
implementation of the closing or change
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Requires that all special education students attending a New York City
public school scheduled to be closed or to undergo a significant change,
be assigned to a new school within New York City with comparable
services prior to the implementation of the closing or change.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 2590-h of the education law is amended to add paragraph b-(vi)
and paragraph e-(vii)
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Over 100,000 special education children attend New York City schools
(about 101. of all students). For these vulnerable children, school
closures can mean a space crunch that translates into a significant
decline in speech, occupational or physical therapy. Many of the new
schools that opened in their place do not provide mandated ELL or
special education classes and cannot admit students in these categories.
Reduction of these services results directly in increased student drop-
out rates or significant academic and developmental regressions.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
05/11/22 REFERRED TO NEW YORK CITY EDUCATION
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately