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.
When will schools reopen?
On July 8, 2020 the Mayor announced the broad strokes of his administration’s proposal for NYC public schools this September. NYC DOE has created a new page on their website that you can bookmark for more information (“Return to School 2020”).
The City’s stated intention for public schools is to provide what they are calling “blended learning,” a mix of in-person and remote learning that will vary by school building site with “most students” attending school “2-3 days per week.” Public statements by the Chancellor and emails to parents from IncludeNYC indicate an intention to provide full-time, in-person instruction to District 75 students as much as possible.
On July 13th, New York State released the outline of its guidelines for reopening schools in the form of a PowerPoint. Formal guidance is expected July 15th.
Governor Cuomo says he will not be making a decision about whether or not to reopen schools until the first week in August.
We continue to operate under the assumption that most of the private schools our clients attend will physically re-open in some form come September, 2020. Many have already announced their intention to do so.
How does the timing of schools reopening affect when I must provide notice to the DOE if I decide to unilaterally place my child in an independent school for 2020-21?
When schools physically reopen has no impact on the legal timeline for giving notice to your school district. Your attorney must send a ten-day notice to the district on your behalf if you decide to enroll your child in a non-public school or program and seek reimbursement. For 12-month students the 2020-21 school year began on July 2nd; for 10-month students it will begin in September.
If the DOE offers more in-person instruction than my private school can will that harm my case?
As schools prepare for the fall term, many programs are looking at providing a mix of in-person and remote learning at the start of the school year. For parents who may be seeking tuition reimbursement for independent programs, many have asked whether their case could be put at risk if that private school does not offer as much live or in-person instruction as the program offered by the school district.
To be sure, the merits of every case are very individualized, so you should discuss these issues with your attorney. But the crux of a tuition reimbursement case remains the sufficiency of the IEP developed for your child. A child offered an inadequate classroom and services – albeit offered live and in-person – may well need to enroll in a specialized private school that is individualized to that child’s needs, even if that program is operating remotely due to the pandemic. The private school must establish that the education it is providing is sufficient to address the child’s needs.
What is happening with my 2019-20 case that isn’t resolved yet?
The majority of our active cases from the prior school year have been referred to settlement and are in active negotiations. If your case has not settled, your attorney will be contacting you to discuss the possibility of a hearing.