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NYC Department of Education
52 Chambers Street
New York, NY 1000?

Assistant Commissioner Suriano

New Yori< State Education Department
89 Washington Avenue

Albany, NY 12234

Dear Assistant Commissioner Suriano:

Thank you for your continued partnership and engagement with us on the New York City Compliance
Assurance Plan on Special Education. Chancellor Carranza is committed to making system?wide
improvements to ensure that every student with a disability in New York City receives appropriate
services to prepare them for college, careers or independent iiving. ln Aprii, the City announced an
investment of over $100 million to improve special education programs and services. This includes
improvements across many areas including increasing the number of school expanding
specialized reading intervention programs, creating more innovative program modeis, as weil as more
preschool integrated ciasses.

This increased investment wiil support our ability to work cioseiy with parents to develop high?quality
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) designed to meet each student?s individualized needs. In
addition, parents are provided access to due process proceddres, incioding the option to tile for an
impartial hearing before a NYSED~certified and appointed hearing officer, when a disagreement arises. it
should be noted that iess than 1% of families of students attending NYCDOE schools file for impartial
hearings each year. Even where parents file for an impartiai hearing, NYCDOE attempts to resoive parent
concerns without the need for litigation whenever possible. For those impartial hearings that proceed,
parents and NYCDOE are experiencing major deiays clue to a shortage in NYSED-certified hearing officers
availabie to hear cases and other issues.

As of Friday, inne 14, 2019, there were nine impartiai hearing officers in rotation with over 9,000 due
process claims filed for school year 2018?2019. As you know, NYSED is the certifying body for hearing
officers. We depend on NYSED to canvas for new attorney applicants and to offer a new training ciass in
the near future to increase the number of hearing officers available to hear New York City cases. Given
the urgent need to address this shortage, the NYCDOE stands ready to collaborate on the improvement
of recruitment and retention processes for impartial hearing officers.

in the attached documents, you wili find response to Section ill of the Compliance Assurance
Plan, with a deadiine oflnne 17,, 2019. This inciudes an Action Plan to address the issues NYSED raised
regarding due process protections, as weil as our goals, measnres, and action steps and supports
needed to address the requirements NYSED laid out.

We recognize that NYSED oversees the impartial nearing process across New York State. it is important
to note that New York City?s process is different from the rest ofthe state due to the requirements of
the City Charter. We understand that NYSED wouid like for to reduce unnecessary hearings by
authorizing staff to enter into settlements at impartial hearings, but because of the City Charter
reonirement for Comptrolier authority. NYCDOE must undertake a detaiied iegai and financial review of
each case in order to make an informed recommendation for Comptroller approvai. in the vast majority
of cases, the DOE staff appearing at the hearings do not make this determination. Therefore, NYCDOE
cannot authorize its staff to enter into monetary settlements of due process complaints at impartial
hearing. NYCDOE compiy with guidance for non~monetary settlements. Moreover, NYCDOE
is working to expedite the settlement processes where the Comptroller must be involved to reduce the
volume of unnecessary due process hearings.

We appreciate your partnership and commitment to discussing soiutions to the rnany complex issues
related to impartial Hearings in NYC including compensation, recruitment, policies and oversight of
impartial Hearing Officers, and mediation. We have found the meetings over the past few months to be
productive and are committed to continuing our coliaboration with you.

Sincerely,

 

Karin Goidrnark