New York: Newsday warns about about state's "subpar services" for SPED

Mar 12, 2019, Newsday: Regents: New York's special education programs lag https://www.newsday.com/long-island/education/board-of-regents-schools-special-education-1.28395239 ALBANY — New York lags behind many other states in the delivery of special education services, and dozens of school districts on Long Island and elsewhere need to boost student achievement in this area, state education officials declared Monday. The U.S. Department of Education has deemed New York a “state in need of assistance” because of subpar services and the low performance of students with disabilities. While the designation is long-standing, the state Board of Regents set aside two hours at its monthly meeting Monday to underscore the seriousness of the situation. Forty-four school systems statewide, including Central Islip, Glen Cove and Hempstead on the Island, have been identified as falling short in the area of special education, either in delivery of services, scholastic results or both, state authorities said. Such districts will be required to come up with improvement plans — a common state practice that often has yielded limited successes in the past. “It’s a critical kind of situation,” said Regent Betty Rosa of the Bronx, chancellor of the board, who was unanimously re-elected to the post Monday by her colleagues. … The Regents’ comments followed a briefing by state Education Department officials, who said New York State had carried the federal designation of needing assistance for about 10 years. “It’s been years,” said another board member, Catherine Collins of Buffalo. “Meanwhile, things have just deteriorated.”