New York City Department of Education Chancellor David Banks announced the completion of the “Reimagining Special Education” report in Sunset Park on Wednesday.
Photo by Paul Frangipane
Schools Chancellor David C. Banks stopped by a Sunset Park school on Wednesday to announce the completion of “Reimagining Special Education” — the first official report from the newly-formed New York City Public Schools Special Education Advisory Council.
The council, first announced in December 2022, spent its first year analyzing the current state of special education in New York City and identifying gaps in services and programming, Banks told guests gathered at P.S. 958.
The council made five key recommendations, urging the city’s Department of Education to be “fully inclusive and interdependent,” to restructure general education classes, and to strengthen trust between schools and families, among others.
In response to the report, New York City Public Schools expanded a partnership to improve the Individualized Education Program Parent Member role, added programming for students with autism in neighborhood schools, and released a new inclusive language glossary.
The biggest focus, Banks said, is getting kids the support they need close to home.
“For far too long families with disabilities have struggled to find high-quality programs that were close to home,” the chancellor said, stressing that the city will add 160 kindergarten seats across relevant programs such as Nest, Horizon and AIMS, in districts 5, 12 and 14.
Parent Sarahi Orial Mendez said the AIMS program — a special education program in select District 75 schools that serves some students with autism by using Applied Behavior Analysis and Verbal Behavior techniques — has done wonders for her son, Matthew.
Mendez said she had a hard time finding an appropriate school for Matthew, who didn’t start walking until he was four years old. Eventually, he was accepted into…
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