Skyer Law has launched an FAQ page to ensure that you have answers to your most pressing questions. When you visit, please make note of the date stamp. We will continue to update these questions as we learn more and the circumstances develop.
If your question is not answered here, please reach out to your attorney.
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“I HAVE LEFT NEW YORK CITY TEMPORARILY. IS THERE ANYTHING I NEED TO DO WITH REGARDS TO THE DOE?”
We recommend that our clients send an email to any DOE administrator you have been emailing with recently and/or your local CSE Chairperson (or, for public school parents of school-age children, their school principal), and provide a cell phone number and an email address so that they can reach out to you about IEP meetings, etc.
You can look up contact information for your CSE regional Chairperson on the DOE website. Remember that your CSE region/district is only the same as where your child lives if they are preschool age or attend a public school. Parents of school-age children attending private schools must contact the CSE regional office where the private school is located.
Here is sample email:
Subject: your child’s name, NYC ID number
Dear DOE OFFICIAL’S NAME,
I am the parent of CHILD NAME, whose NYC ID number is XXXXXXXXX and who resides at ADDRESS.
Please be advised that due to the current health emergency, my family is presently staying outside of New York City. I am happy to remotely participate in any CSE meeting, evaluation, or other activity. Here is the best cell phone number(s) and email address(es) for reaching our family. We are sending all of you our best wishes during this challenging time.
Sincerely,
PARENT
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“IS MY IEP MEETING CANCELLED?”
Your IEP meetings (including turning five meetings) have not been cancelled, unless someone from the CSE contacts you to say so. Please get their name and email so that you can email them back to confirm your conversation with them.
If a CSE representative gives you a choice to postpone or to participate in the meeting remotely, you should agree to do the meeting by phone—circumstances permitting. Failure to cooperate with the CSE may jeopardize a future settlement or impartial hearing.
If you receive a notice asking to do a CSE meeting remotely, we generally advise that you consent to this. Send an email indicating your agreement and provide your phone number. If there are extenuating circumstances that you are concerned about, speak to your attorney.
If you planned to have providers, clinicians, or an attorney attend an upcoming IEP meeting, make sure everyone confirms their availability to participate. Provide any call-in information from the CSE team to those people and/or provide the CSE with their contact information.
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“THE DOE SCHEDULED TESTING FOR MY CHILD AT ONE OF ITS CSE OFFICES. I AM AFRAID TO BRING THEM IN FOR TESTING BECAUSE OF HEALTH CONCERNS. WHAT CAN I DO?”
If you are in this situation, reach out to your attorney about your circumstances and we will help you draft a letter. But generally speaking, your family’s health must come first.
It is very important to properly document why your child cannot come in for testing and to provide consent for any remote testing the DOE may offer instead.
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“MY CHILD’S CASE HAS BEEN REFERRED FOR SETTLEMENT. WILL THIS STILL HAPPEN?”
Yes, we expect so. We continue to actively and productively negotiate settlements with the DOE, even as of this week. Some new language may be added to recognize distance learning.
The more difficult question is whether this will cause further delays in an already slow process, and we just don’t know. Our attorneys and paralegals continue to work on a full-time basis from home and are pushing the DOE on all our cases. We will keep you updated.
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“MY CHILD’S CASE HAS BEEN SCHEDULED FOR A HEARING. DO I HAVE TO GO TO IT IN PERSON?”
No, absolutely not. The NY State Education Department (NYSED) has issued guidance allowing impartial hearing officers (IHOs) to conduct their hearings by telephone and they are all doing this.
If you have an upcoming hearing, check in with your attorney for information on how your particular IHO will conduct it. Make sure to double check that your witnesses will be available and know how to participate.
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“WILL MY SETTLEMENT OR PENDENCY ORDER CONTINUE TO BE PAID AS MY CHILD RECEIVES THEIR SERVICES, HOWEVER THEY ARE MODIFIED BY THE SCHOOL/PROVIDERS GIVEN THE HEALTH CRISIS (REMOTE LEARNING, ETC.)?”
Yes. The US DOE and NYSED have made it clear to school districts that the obligation to special education students to provide FAPE is unchanged. The NYS Department of Education has referenced federal guidance in their most recently issued opinion:
“If an LEA [Local Education Agency] continues to provide educational opportunities to the general student population during a school closure, the school must ensure that students with disabilities also have equal access to the same opportunities, including the provision of FAPE.”
Settlement monies are coming in, and they are being promptly processed by our office. You will have the option to receive these proceeds either by check mailed to you or via wire transfer.
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“MY CHILD DOES NOT HAVE AN IEP AND I HAD PLANNED TO REQUEST A CSE REVIEW. IS THAT STILL POSSIBLE?”
Yes. This has not changed. You will make the same request for your child to be evaluated and for the CSE to hold an IEP meeting as you would have before the school closures.
If you came into our office for a consultation this year we likely provided you with draft language for your referral letter. Please add the following language before you send your letter or follow up to add this language:
In light of the ongoing health emergency, I consent to any evaluation or meeting that the DOE wishes to do remotely. Here is my cell phone number and my email address. Please notify me of all meetings by email.
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”IF MY CHILD RECEIVES SEIT OR SETSS SERVICES EITHER THROUGH AN IEP OR IESP WILL THEY BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO RECEIVE THESE SERVICES?”
According to the most recent DOE policy we have received, SETSS service providers may continue instruction through remote learning, but are not permitted to enter homes to deliver services.
While we have not received specific language regarding SEIT services, at this time all of the information we have points to SEIT services only being available through remote learning for the time being.
You should speak to your assigned attorney to discuss your specific case if you or the agency has questions.
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”WILL I BE ELIGIBLE FOR TUITION REIMBURSEMENT AT MY INDEPENDENT PRIVATE SCHOOL FOR THE PERIOD OF TIME WHILE IN-PERSON CLASSES ARE CANCELLED?”
Yes, we expect so, as long as your private school implements remote learning while the DOE schools are closed and doing the same.
We strongly advise you to keep detailed records and documentation to the best of your abilities. Create a file system and keep a copy of all the assignments and homework that is being done. Create a special folder on your computer for electronic documents and in your email client for correspondence with the school providers. Keep copies of schedules too. If at all possible, try to jot down notes in a diary of what is done for/with your child each day.
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“MY CHILD ATTENDS A NYS APPROVED NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MY SCHOOL IN TERMS OF TUITION?”
All of the NYS Approved schools received a letter from the NY State Education Department telling them that they will be paid for the 2019-2020 school year as long as remote learning continues. NYSED has clearly stated that rules regarding “attendance” don’t matter as long as students remain enrolled and are being given remote instruction.
Having said that, we strongly encourage every parent of a child in a NYS Approved Non-Public School to document the remote learning as we described in the question above for independent schools.