UFT - United Federation of Teachers

11/20/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/20/2024 09:28

Extensive staff shortages leave thousands of special education students without services, despite city’s promises

Thousands of special education students in New York City public schools this school year are still without the services they are legally entitled to because of massive shortages of paraprofessionals, occupational and physical therapists, and other school-related professionals.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew, joined by educators and parents, today said, "The Department of Education's special education system is broken. While the DOE claims they don't know the extent of the staffing shortages or have precise figures on staffing shortages, educators and administrators are reporting record-high shortages and our own survey shows there are more than 2,200 special education vacancies across nearly 474 schools - with 1,558 of those being paraprofessional vacancies."

"Since 2019, the city has promised the New York State Education Department - in writing - to fix its special education system, yet these problems persist. The appointment of Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos is an opportunity for us to reboot the system and together to get special education students the support they are entitled to," Mulgrew said.

To date, 81% of the city's 1,629 traditional public schools and District 75 special education sites have responded to the UFT survey. District 75 (D75) provides specialized educational services for special education students with the most significant challenges.

The initial results found:

  • Nearly 9,000 special education students are not receiving one or more of their mandated services (e.g. occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), speech, counseling).
  • 2,264 special education vacancies across 474 schools
  • 1,558 paraprofessional vacancies (656 or 42% are from D75)
  • 445 special education teachers (8% are from D75)
  • 139 occupational and physical therapists (42% are from D75)
  • 84 speech therapists (25% are from D75)
  • 39 counselors and social workers (10% are from D75)
  • 70% of D75 chapter leaders reported special education vacancies at their schools compared to 37% of non-D75 schools.
  • 54% of D75 chapter leaders reported OT/PT/speech vacancies at their schools compared to 10% of non-D75 schools.
  • 68% of D75 Chapter leaders said their school did not provide regular coverage for absent Paraprofessionals; 48% of non-D75 schools reported the same.
  • 76% of D75 schools reported that students are not receiving all of their mandated services (e.g. OT, PT, speech, counseling, etc.); 36% of non-D75 schools reported the same.

The vacancies at District 75 programs have a disproportionate impact on students.

  • P993, a cluster of D75 special education programs located at nine sites in Astoria, Queens, is missing 74 paraprofessionals; 29 speech therapists; 24 occupational therapists; 14 physical therapists; 7 nurses; 3 psychologists; 2 guidance counselors; 1 social worker.
  • P169M, a cluster of D75 special education programs located at six sites on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, is missing 48 paraprofessionals; 8 special education teachers; 3 occupational therapists; 3 physical therapists; 3 speech therapists; 1 social worker.

The UFT filed a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request with the state Education Department in an attempt to tease out city special education staffing numbers.

The FOIL request showed the DOE by its own account needs to hire an additional 536 occupational and physical therapists and speech pathologists to fully serve IEP-mandated needs in the 2024-25 school year.

Instead of hiring the necessary therapists, the DOE hires a revolving door of outside contractors through private companies. This patchwork of contracted services in FY 24 included 141 active contracts at a cost of nearly $900 million.

The UFT's top three recommendations to fix the broken system:

  • Reform the hiring and pay system for paraprofessionals.
  • Use the negotiated 9th period to provide occupational and physical therapy services to more students, and start to reduce the DOE's reliance on private, third-party vendors.
  • Change the current funding system to ensure that each school, whether in District 75 or traditional community school districts, has the money to hire the necessary staff.