September 12, 2018 The Honorable Bill de Blasio Mayor of the City of New York City Hall New York, NY 10007 Dear Mayor de Blasio: We write as members of the ARISE Coalition1 and Parents for Inclusive Education (“PIE”)2 to thank you for including funding for school accessibility in the City’s FY 2019 budget and to ask you to ensure that the City include a major investment in the FY 2020-2024 School Construction Authority (SCA) Five-Year Capital Plan to make at least one-third of schools accessible to students, parents, and teachers with physical disabilities. We are very pleased that the adopted FY 2019 budget included $150 million over three years to make more schools accessible. We appreciate your recognition of the importance of this issue. The $150 million is a significant step that will help create more opportunities for students with physical disabilities and will move us further toward the inclusive and diverse City that we, as New Yorkers, truly value. We also recognize that far more work remains. Twenty-eight years have passed since the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and over 40 years have passed since the enactment of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which mandates inclusion. Yet, only one out of every five city schools is fully accessible to students, parents, staff, and other community members with physical disabilities. As a result, students with physical disabilities find themselves automatically shut out of the majority of schools because of architectural barriers. Most students with physical disabilities cannot attend their zoned elementary schools with their neighborhood peers. Those students, instead, are forced to travel significant distances in order to attend elementary schools they can access. In fact, three of NYC’s 32 school districts currently have no fully accessible elementary 1 The ARISE Coalition is a coalition of parents, advocates, educators and academics who have been working together for a decade on systemic issues around special education. We work to bring about policy changes that will improve the day-to-day experiences of and long-term outcomes for students with disabilities in New York City public schools. 2 PIE is a group of parents, educators, and advocates working together to make inclusion a viable option for all students with disabilities in New York City. With members throughout the five boroughs, PIE is the only group in New York City dedicated solely to advocating for the inclusion of students with disabilities. schools at all. Additionally, there are matriculating high school students who find themselves with very limited choices when participating in the Department of Education’s often-touted high school choice process because of the severe shortage of fully accessible high schools. Their peers without disabilities have far more schools from which to choose. In fact, six of the 32 school districts currently have no fully accessible high schools. These realities directly contradict our City’s core values. Given the dismal state of school accessibility, we ask that the City ensure that at least one-third of schools are fully accessible by the end of the next five-year SCA Capital Plan in FY 2024. We estimate that reaching this target would require an additional $750 million over five years (for a total of $850 million with the $100 million already allocated for FY 20 and FY 21). While we would like to see the school system fully accessible to individuals with physical disabilities, this funding would go a long way toward integrating students with physical needs into NYC’s schools and would have a significant impact on their lives. Individuals with physical disabilities need better access to the City’s school system. To achieve this goal, we urge you to include an additional $750 million in the FY 2020-2024 SCA Capital Plan to make at least one third of schools fully accessible. It is time to provide students with physical disabilities the same opportunities as their nondisabled peers and create a school system where all are welcomed and included. Sincerely, Adaptive Design Association, Inc Advocates for Children of New York Bronx Independent Living Services Center for Independence of the Disabled, NY Citywide Council on Special Education Community Education Council District 9 Cooke School and Institute Early Childhood Direction Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital Everyone Reading Goddard Riverside Community Center, Star Learning Center INCLUDEnyc The Law Office of Steven Alizio, PLLC Mobilization for Justice, Inc. New Alternatives for Children New York Lawyers for the Public Interest Parent to Parent New York, Inc. Teachers College Inclusive Classrooms Project Teach for America - New York United We Stand Vibrant Emotional Health Naomi Abraham, Esq., MSW Brian and Suzanne Albert, Parents Steven J. Alizio, Esq., M.S.Ed. Mark Alter, PhD, Professor of Educational Psychology, New York University Dr. Jessica Bacon, Assistant Professor, Montclair State University Rebecca Bauer, Parent and Advocate, David C. Bloomfield, Professor, Brooklyn College and The CUNY Graduate Center Anthony A. Caponera Nora Cohen, Parent and P.I.E. Member April Coughlin, School of Education, SUNY New Paltz Susan Crawford Maggie R. Downham, Advocate Deirdre Garrett-Scott, Parent IEP Member District 3 Brendan Houng-Lee, Parent Lisa Isaacs, Esq. Lisa Pena Humes, Parent Lannetta C. Jeffers Nicole Job, BK Borough President Appointee, Community Education Council 17 Revere Joyce, Advocate Joseph Karam Stacey Kennard, Esq. Rebecca Kostyuchenko, Esq., Parent Kim Madden, Parent Deborah Miller Amy Ming Tsai, Council Member for Citywide Council for District 75 and Parent of District 75 Diana Mendez, Parent Advocate Marc Anthony Mendez, Self-Advocate Elise Murphy Michelle Noris, Parent, Engineer/Director - Access for All Megan Ohlssen Idalia Ortiz Celia Oyler, Professor of Inclusive Education, Teachers College Srikala Naraian, Associate Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University Heather Sciacca, Parent Jennifer Sellar, Parent Iriss Shimony, Parent Advocate Karen Spraggs, Parent Shino Tanikawa, Parent Advocate and member of Community Education Council for District 2 Jasmine Tay, Parent Mary Ann Tsourounakis -Parent/Advocate Dr. Emanuel Tsourounakis -Parent/Advocate Dr. Helen Tsourounakis Sophia Tsourounakis, MA George Tsourounakis Zoe Tsourounakis- Self Advocate RueZalia Watkins Josh Weitzman, Parent, Inventor/Maker - Tell Us Abey Francisco Witemberg Cabral, Parent