A dire staff shortage is creating a special education crisis in New York City public schools, the teachers union says, leaving thousands of children without their legally mandated services.
Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, said a long-standing shortage of paraprofessionals, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech therapists and counselors appears to be particularly severe this year. The union released a survey of schools showing that nearly 9,000 special education students are receiving none or more of their services.
“During the beginning of this school year, we noticed a major problem with special education services,” Mulgrew said. “We have been in constant contact with the Ministry of Education about these services. Their response was incompetent to say the least.”
In a news release, the union called the city’s special education system “broken.”
Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said in a statement that the Education Department is working to address the shortage. She said the department recently hired “a compliance liaison” to help schools connect students with providers. “I look forward to working with President Mulgrew and his team at UFT to meet these critical school needs,” she said.
The study found that the shortage was especially acute in District 75 schools, which serve students with the most severe disabilities. Bronx mother Yanet Vasquez said staffing issues are keeping her 14-year-old son, Joel, from attending school at all. Joel, who has autism, non-verbal and diabetes, would be accompanied on the school bus by a paraprofessional.
But the city hasn’t been able to assign him a bus driving paraprofessional for three months.
‘The para must be with him. Because he doesn’t have one, the bus won’t pick him up,” she said. So Vasquez said Joel had to stay home from school and miss academics, speech therapy, occupational therapy and counseling. She said he has become more aggressive since being stuck at home.
“Honestly, I feel so sad that education is one of the most important things in life and my son can’t get that,” she said.
According to the teachers union, there are 1,558 paraprofessional vacancies in the 474 schools surveyed.
“It’s shocking how many cases I’ve escalated this year that require a paratrooper at school or on the bus,” said Maggie Moroff, special education policy coordinator at Advocates for Children of New York.
Paraprofessionals are represented by the teachers union. They are assigned to students based on academic, behavioral, or health needs and often work with children one-on-one. They typically earn between $30,000 and $50,000 per year.
Mulgrew said the city needs to create a stronger pipeline of candidates to fill those positions, while offering higher pay to recruit and retain the full range of special education providers.
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