Skyer Law’s FAQ on the COVID-19 Health Emergency continues to be regularly updated.
Below are new or updated items only. To read the full FAQ, please visit our website.
I have received my retainer agreement from Skyer Law, but I’m not sure what I’m doing next year. What if I change my mind about pursuing a due process claim?
We are adding language to our retainers for the 2020-21 school year that allow for most of your retainer fee to be refunded if you change your mind. We are doing this to ensure that our many clients who are uncertain about their next steps do not lose the benefit of proper counsel during this difficult time.
The DOE scheduled testing for my child. Is this really happening and how?
CSEs shifted to remote practice on March 20, 2020, and according to the DOE’s “Information on Remote Learning” page: “Assessments may be conducted remotely.”
Please check in with the person who scheduled your child’s testing at the CSE to confirm that your testing is still scheduled to go ahead remotely. Forward details about that communication to your attorney.
If you cannot reach the person who scheduled your testing, visit the DOE website’s page for “Committees on Special Education” to find a list of CSE administrators and their direct emails for every CSE office and email specialeducation@schools.nyc.gov. Reach out to your attorney if you are unable to contact anyone regarding your child’s scheduled testing.
I need to get a full neuropsychological evaluation done for my child this spring. What do I do now?
First, reach out and speak to the neuropsychologist you are working with. Every situation is different and every neuropsychologist practice we work with may approach these challenges differently. In many cases, it may be possible to do a comprehensive patient history, an interview of parents and teachers, and some testing and/or remote observations. Follow-up in-person office visits can and should be scheduled for later this spring or summer, if possible, to add to or complete these preliminary reports.
Will the DOE counter-sign my stipulation agreement electronically?
We are still waiting to receive DOE policy on this. In preparation for possible electronic signature, some DOE attorneys are soliciting scanned signature pages. Obviously, given the projected length of this health emergency, it is important that the DOE temporarily performs this function remotely. We continue to advocate in this regard.
My child receives SETSS, SEIT and/or related services (speech, OT, PT) from an independent provider—but they have not received those services since the schools closed. Some providers are saying that they are not yet authorized to provide services, while others are doing so. What is allowed?
Any failure of the DOE to offer these services on an “equitable and comparable basis” to what has been offered to public school students would be inequitable and, as we see it, a violation of law. If you are our client and your child is experiencing this issue, please reach out to your attorney case manager immediately.
There have been confusing and conflicting messages from the DOE as well as from some of the agencies that provide these services. NYC public school students began receiving their related services via distance learning on Monday, March 23rd.
Authorizations and instructions for independent (non-DOE) SETSS and SEIT providers as to how they can provide services and be paid for them were sent out Wednesday March 25th. We understand that comparable instructions for independent related service providers will be distributed soon. We will keep you posted.
Our first goal is to get everyone’s services restarted as quickly as possible, but your attorney case manager can also discuss pursuing compensatory relief for your child.
When are schools going to re-open, and how will that affect when I must provide notice to the DOE if I decide to unilaterally place my child in an independent school for 2020-21?
The DOE website currently says: “School buildings are scheduled to reopen to students following Spring Recess on Monday, April 20, 2020.” We all hope this is possible, however, it is clear that this situation is very fluid and that it is prudent to plan for this timeline to extend.
Whenever our schools re-open to students, this does not affect the legal timeline for providing notice to the DOE for a unilateral placement in a non-public school. We must still provide ten days of notice before the new school year begins: for 12-month students, the 2020-21 school year begins in early July; for 10-month students, it begins in September.
Is New York State poised to radically defund local school districts?
Governor Cuomo is proposing devastating cuts to education funding in the final State budget this week. These are extraordinarily difficult times, but we agree with our colleagues at Advocates for Children (and other educational advocacy groups throughout New York State) that these extreme cuts would magnify the already outsized impact of the school closures on students with disabilities and other marginalized students.
We encourage all of our clients to reach out to their state elected officials about this important issue. Advocates for Children has a form letter you can use and edit to make your own.