June 16, 2020 The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State New York State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224 Dear Governor Cuomo: On behalf of organizations working to support children and families in New York State, we are writing to urge you to extend the deadline for children to receive Early Intervention (EI) services when they have been unable to receive preschool special education evaluations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unless the State acts quickly, we are deeply concerned that young children with developmental delays and disabilities across the State will experience a gap in services in violation of their legal rights. As you know, federal law requires that the State “ensure a smooth and effective transition” from Early Intervention to preschool special education services. In New York State, typically, a child’s EI services end when the child turns three, unless the child is found eligible for preschool special education services prior to the child’s third birthday, in which case the parent has the option of extending the child’s EI services beyond the child’s third birthday. For children turning three between January and August, parents have the option to extend EI services through August 31st, but only if their child is evaluated and found eligible for preschool special education services prior to the child’s third birthday. Recognizing that many children would experience delays in getting evaluated for preschool special education services as a result of the pandemic, the New York State Department of Health extended EI services through June 30th for children who were unable to get preschool special education evaluations and eligibility determinations prior to their third birthday. This extension has helped ensure that children with developmental delays and disabilities do not lose all services on their third birthday. However, as June 30th approaches, we are very concerned that services will end abruptly for children who recently turned three but who have not yet had preschool special education evaluations and eligibility determinations. Given the uncertainty of this pandemic, this deadline risks cutting children off from services for months and months during one of the most critical periods of their development. When a child is referred for preschool special education evaluations, it is the school district’s obligation to evaluate that child. However, the pandemic and school closures have led to significant delays in these evaluations. Many school districts around the State did not begin authorizing remote evaluations until after the New York State Education Department (NYSED) issued guidance on April 27th, creating a backlog in evaluations; some districts are still not conducting remote evaluations. Furthermore, the NYSED guidance states that “the determination as to whether a specific evaluation may be conducted remotely for a particular student must be made on a case-by-case basis” and that, if an evaluation requires a face-to-face in-person assessment or observation, “the evaluation would need to be delayed until school reopens.” As a result, children are not being evaluated in the timely manner necessary to ensure they do not lose services by the June 30th deadline. We appreciate the hard work of the State’s Bureau of Early Intervention to transition to remote EI services for children during the pandemic. Now, we need to make sure that the efforts of the EI program and the progress children have made are not undone due to a gap in services. During this public health emergency, the State must continue extending EI services for children unable to get preschool special education evaluations by June 30th and must ensure that no child has services cut off due to their school district’s inability to evaluate them for preschool special education services. Sincerely, ACDS ACTS Adirondack Foundation - Birth to Three Alliance Advocates for Children of New York Alcott School All Good Alliance for Quality Education Association to Benefit Children Brightside Up, Inc Brooklyn Defender Services Capital Region Alliance for Children with Special Needs Catholic Family Center Center for Children's Initiatives Child Care Council, Inc. Child Care Council of Dutchess and Putnam, Inc. Child Care Council of Orange County, Inc. Child Care Council of Suffolk Child Care Resources of Rockland, Inc. Child Care Solutions, Inc. Children's Aid Children's Defense Fund - New York Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) Citizens' Committee for Children of New York Cyn's Heavenly Angels Quality Child Care Day Care Council of New York Disability Rights New York Docs for Tots Early Care & Learning Council Early Childhood Alliance Onondaga ECE on the Move Erie Niagara Birth to 8 Coalition Generations Child Care, Inc. Healthi Kids, an initiative of Common Ground Health Hudson Alliance for Children with Special Needs INCLUDEnyc InterAgency Council of Developmental Disabilities Agencies, Inc Kennedy Children's Center Kids Can’t Wait Campaign Leeway School Liftoff Western New York Long Island Coalition for Children with Special Needs Mental Health Advocates of WNY Neighborhood Health Center New Alternatives for Children (NAC) New York Center for Child Development New York Center for Infants and Toddlers New York City Coalition for Children with Special Needs New York Immigration Coalition New York State Alliance for Children with Special Needs New York State Association of County Health Officials New York University School of Law Education Advocacy Clinic New York Zero-to-Three Network North Country Kids NY Association for the Education of Young Children Parents Helping Parents Coalition of Monroe County Power of Two Prevent Child Abuse New York QSAC, Inc. Rising Ground, Inc. Rochester Chapter NYAEYC Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy Seneca Babcock Early Childhood Academy Sinergia Inc Southern tier Pediatrics practice pc Jamestown NY St Mary's Healthcare System for Children Step by Step Developmental Services The Children's Agenda The Children's Law Center The Education Trust–New York The Guidance Center of Westchester The Jewish Board of Family & Children's Services The Right to Read Project Therapeutic Link for Children United Way of the Southern Tier United We Stand of New York Westchester Children's Association Western Central Coalition for Children with Special Needs Western New York Speech-Language Pathology, OT and PT Consultants Winning Beginning New York WNY Women's Foundation