Special Education/IEP Information

All of the information posted below has been emailed to parents of students with IEPs by Alison Libfeld.

If you have not received emails from Alison, please email her at ALibfeld@schools.nyc.gov to be added to the distribution list. 

2021-2022 School Year Calendar

Family Guide to Special Education Services for School-Age Children 

Special Education Continuum of Services, Programs and Placements 

Special Education Standard Operating Procedures Manual (SOPM)

Special Education Homepage

Special Education in Blended and Remote Settings

Special Education Learn at Home Resources

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program to Families 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched a short-term Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program, which will provide reduced cost broadband internet service for eligible New York City households during the COVID-19 pandemic. All families with a student enrolled in a DOE school or program are eligible for this benefit, and funds will be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis until the program has exhausted available funds. 

Families can find out if they are eligible, apply for the program, and find participating broadband providers via the USAC website. There are two types of benefits available to eligible households:  

• Monthly Benefit: a discount of up to $50/month for broadband service, equipment, and device rentals; or  

• One-time Device Discount: up to $100 for a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer (with a co-payment of $10 - $50), where available.  

Families can visit the FCC’s EBB webpage and view this FAQ to learn more about the EBB program.  

Translated materials are available via the following links: Spanish, Arabic, Amharic, Burmese, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.  

If families have questions or require support with an application, they can email EBBHelp@usac.org or call (833) 511-0311.

Indoors for Autism Event

Include NYC's virtual Indoors for Autism event  will be held on Saturday, June 5 at 9am. The event offers self-care activities and fun for children with and without disabilities and their families. You can find more information and register. 

Please see the note below from Mr. Schwartz regarding the City's plan for learning programs this summer. 

Dear P.S. 24 Families and Friends,

Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Porter recently announced Summer Rising—a bold vision for in-person summer learning that is student-centered, experiential, academically rigorous and culturally responsive and sustaining. In preparing for the launch of Summer Rising, please review the following updates:

K–5 Summer Rising enrollment opened on the City’s Summer Rising page on April 26. Note that the registration page currently only includes locations that have a confirmed community based organization (CBO) partner; additional CBO partners will be added on a rolling basis through mid-May when confirmed by the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD). At this time, PS 24 does not have a confirmed CBO partner although one will be provided to us in the near future.

If families visit the City’s Summer Rising page to enroll, you will notice that our program site is not yet listed, however it will be added soon. In the meantime, if you are interested in attending the Summer Rising program, you should take these three key steps in preparation for summer school enrollment:

• Go to schools.nyc.gov/summer to learn where P.S.24's Summer Rising program is located for summer, and which CBOs will be partnering with the school;

• Complete this Summer Rising interest survey, which will allow someone to contact you once our  program site has been added and to help you through the registration process; and

• Create an account on the discoverDYCD site. This will allow you to receive weekly emails from DYCD letting you know which programs have been added.

Once we receive additional information about the Summer Rising program, we will continue to update you.

Thank you,

Steven Schwartz

New York State Tests (Students in Grades 3-5 only)

This year, unlike in previous years, all students are automatically OPTED OUT of taking the New York State Test. (This is a new development as previous communication from the State and City stated that families had to opt out, not opt in.) 

Testing Dates:

English Language Arts for grades 3 through 5

• April 27 for Cohort A students and students that attend 5x a week 

• April 28 for Cohort B students

Mathematics for grades 3 through 5: 

• May 11 for Cohort A students and students that attend 5x a week 

• May 12 for Cohort B students

Science for grade 4 ONLY: 

• June 7–11, 2021 

Earth Day is April 22

Climate change is impacting homes and communities globally. With just a few small steps, we can all contribute to a greener, cleaner city. In recognition of Earth Day, WorkWell NYC invites you to learn more about environmental justice, NYC’s COVID-19 green recovery plan, and launch your green action plan with these simple tips:

• Cash in on Green

  • Every year NYC throws away more than half a million tons of plastic. To save money and cut down on waste, try bringing your own water bottle, utensils, and shopping bag. Challenge yourself to go zero waste on Earth Day!

• Ready, Set, Go Green

  • NYC has over 1,000 miles of bike lanes. Biking is fun, it gets you moving, and it cuts down on greenhouse gases. Learn more about biking in NYC here.

• Green at Home

  • Spring is a great reason to declutter! Before you toss out old clothes or household items, consider giving them away to friends or family or donating them to a local charity. Check out the Decluttering For Your Best Life webinar for more tips.

• Green at Work

  • Adding greenery to your work environment can boost happiness and productivity. Learn more about ways to improve your workspace and manage your workday with our webinar Ergonomics: Hack Your Workspace.

Related Services Sessions:

Efforts will continue to be made to not have related services sessions conflict with remote synchronous instruction. In situations where your child has a conflict, please send them to their related service session. Teachers will then be asked to review instruction/content missed with students to ensure there is no learning lost (just as teachers would do with students when in school). Teachers will also be providing students/families with additional resources, purposely selected i-ready lessons, access to recorded lessons, etc. if appropriate based on the student's grade level and content missed.

March Parent Teacher Conferences:

Your child's IEP progress reports for the second marking period will be emailed to you by your child's teacher or related service provider between Monday, 03/01 and Wednesday, 03/03. Parent Teacher Conferences will be held virtually on Thursday, 03/04. Afternoon conferences will be held from 12:20 to 2:20pm. Evening conferences will be held from 4:30 to 7:30pm. Classroom teachers will be reaching out to families to schedule conferences during one of these times. If you would like to meet with your child's related service provider(s) or SETSS teacher, please email them to set-up an appointment.

NYC DOE Webinar Series for Families of Students with Disabilities:

When students transitioned to remote learning last school year, the DOE launched a series of webinars for families of students with disabilities called the Beyond Access series. The series is continuing this year with webinars designed to support families of students with disabilities during this challenging time. The webinars are hosted by the DOE in partnership with experts in the field. Topics include executive cognitive functioning, literacy, and social emotional learning, among other topics. Content experts will provide strategies and resources that families can use to support their children's learning and overall well-being at home. The webinars are being held every Tuesday at 7:30pm. through the end of May. Families can review webinar topics and register for a webinar by visiting Eventbrite. The webinars are also listed on the DOE family-facing website and calendar. Past webinars are available on YouTube and can be viewed with English or translated captions.

Covid-19 Testing for Students

As a reminder, for your child to return to school on their next scheduled day for in-person learning, you must submit consent for your child to be tested for COVID-19. If you do not consent, your child will not be able to attend school in-person and will be transitioned to remote learning only immediately. This does not apply to students in Kindergarten. 

You can fill out the consent form online via your New York City Schools Account (NYCSA). You can also print and sign the consent form and bring it to school on your child’s next scheduled day for in-person learning. 

Request for Disability-Based Exemption from In-School Covid-19 Testing for Students with Disabilities

If your child has an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and their documented disability directly impacts their ability to be tested for COVID-19 in school, you may request an exemption from the school-based random COVID-19 testing program. Requests will be approved if it is determined that, because of the student’s disability, testing would be dangerous for the student or school/testing personnel, and/or traumatic for the student. 

Approved disability-based requests will exempt a student from in-school testing. However, exempted students are still expected to get tested outside of school. If a student is selected for in-school testing but has an approved disability exemption on file, the student will be expected to get tested outside of school (e.g., at the student’s doctor, at a NYC Health + Hospitals site, etc.) within seven days of notice. Exempted students will also be expected to bring test results into school upon completion.

The DOE released the exemption form on December 2. However, the form was updated on December 4. The form was initially released with a section to be completed by a health director, borough liaison, or administrator for special education. However, this section should instead now be completed by the school psychologist. 

Learning Bridges

As the DOE resumes in-person schooling, most schools and early childhood programs are operating on a blended learning model. This means that each week, students have some school days in person, and some school days remotely. Learning Bridges is a new program that provides free childcare options for children from 3-K through 8th grade on days when they are scheduled for remote learning.

IEP Meetings

The information detailed below is in accordance with the guidance the NYC DOE has provided regarding IEP meetings.

General Information:

• All IEP meetings will be held using Microsoft Teams or Google Meet either virtually or via phone call. (It is up to you, the parent, which mode you prefer - virtually/by phone.)
• All IEP meetings will be held daily from 8:00-8:30am.
• All teachers (in-person, hybrid and remote) will attend IEP meetings for their students.
• Related service providers will not attend IEP meetings for their students this year unless their presence is deemed necessary.
  • Please know:
    • They are not (and have never been) required IEP meeting attendees.
    • This is being in part to avoid providers missing sessions every day due to attending IEP meetings. (As a school we typically hold 5 IEP meetings a week.)
• After the IEP meeting you will receive a copy of the finalized IEP and PWN via email.

In Annual IEP Cases:

• Your child's teacher will coordinate the date of the IEP meeting with you.
• Once the date is confirmed you will receive via email a PDF of the Notice of IEP meeting from your child's teacher.
• By the Friday of the week before your child's IEP meeting, you will receive information from your child's related service provider(s) (if applicable) via email about your child's progress, new goals, etc. All providers will follow the same template. In their email to you, they will indicate days and times they are available to speak about the information shared and any questions you may have in advance of the meeting.

In 3-Year Mandated Reevaluation IEP Cases:

• Our school psychologist, Jessica Lugo, will coordinate the date of the IEP meeting with you.
• Once the date is confirmed you will receive via email a PDF of the Notice of IEP meeting from Jessica.
• Related Service Providers are required to complete Progress Notes for these cases. You will receive these Notes and any other assessments, evaluations, observations, etc. completed, from Jessica Lugo via email in advance of the IEP meeting (as always).

November IEP Progress Reports

At the beginning of last week, the New York City Department of Education released the grading policy for this school year. Then, on Wednesday, October 28, the School Leadership Team at P.S. 24 met to review the policy. At this meeting, the Team (comprised of parents, staff, and administration) decided that all students will receive the grade of "NL" (null-limited) for every overall and sub-component grade in all content areas for the first marking period. The DOE has allowed this designation if a teacher feels that they have insufficient data to provide an accurate grade. Therefore, to ensure that every student is only given a grade that represents their learning and understanding, all students will be given the grade of "NL" for this marking period. The Team also felt that feedback and next steps were more important than a numeric grade.

As a result, and in alignment with this determination, all students on their IEP Progress Reports will receive the indication of "not applicable during this grading period" as their measurement of progress for each goal (academic and related services). It will be indicated that "more time is needed" to work on and assess the progress of each goal. Nonetheless, at your conferences with teachers and providers, you will still be provided with feedback and next steps regarding your child's progress. I understand that this is not ideal, and I apologize for that. It is important to remember that the start of the school year was delayed. Remote instruction began on September 16 and in-person learning did not begin until September 29. In-person instruction (and parts of remote instruction) were further impacted by the 14-day school closure. 

Afternoon conferences on Thursday, 11/5, will run 12:20-2:20pm. Evening conferences will run 4:30-7:30pm. You should have a scheduled conference with your child's teachers during one of these times, or another agreed upon day and time. If you would like to meet with your child's related service provider(s) and have not yet set up an appointment, please email them to do so. Included below are all of our provider's email addresses for your convenience.

Most of what is written below I have pulled from the parent facing DOE website. However, I have also inserted information specific to PS 24 in each section. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out. 

Program Adaptations Document (PAD) 

• The Special Education Program Adaptations Document (PAD) for Blended and Remote Learning documents how the major elements of a student's special education program on their IEP will be implemented during blended and remote learning, including any adaptations specific to the student. 
• A PAD is required for every student with a Special Education Program. Special Education Programs consist of Special Education Teacher Support Services (SETSS), Integrated Co-Teaching Services and Small Class Services. Students that only receive related services do not receive a PAD.
• The PAD is a living document and can be revisited at any point based on how the child is responding to blended or remote learning, and at the parent’s request.
• At this point, all parents/families of students that require PADs have been contacted by their child’s special education teacher and have discussed, reviewed, and received a copy of their child’s PAD.

Related Services Adaptation Document (RAD)

• The Related Services Adaptations Document (RAD) indicates how a student’s related services on their IEP will be implemented during blended and remote learning. 
• A RAD is required for every student that receives related services. 
• A separate RAD is required for each service a child receives. For example, if your child receives Speech-Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy, you will receive two RADs, one for each service.
• DOE policy regarding Provision of Related Services During Blended and Remote Learning states that related service IEP recommendations will be offered in full to the greatest extent possible.
• At this point, all parents/families of students that require RADs have been contacted by their child’s provider(s) and have discussed and reviewed their child’s RAD. I will email all RADs to families. This way you will not receive several different emails from your child’s different providers. I will send you one email with all RADs attached for your convenience.

Special Education Evaluations:

• (Including for students that are due for their three-year mandated reevaluation)
• If a psychoeducational assessment is deemed necessary for a student, according to DOE guidance, the primary means to conduct a psychoeducational assessment will be through a comprehensive data-driven assessment (CDDA).
  • A CDDA is a flexible form of assessment using developmental history, review of existing data, web-based rating scales, student pre-assessment forms, response to intervention data, information gathered from consultation with teachers and parents, and through socially distanced or remote classroom observations and clinical interviews, if needed. All components are completed remotely.
• If a face-to-face assessment is deemed necessary after the completion of a CDDA, subsequent targeted face-to-face assessments may be conducted following the Health and Safety Guidance for Assessments.

Related Services/SETSS Schedules

• All related services and SETSS schedules have been set (for now). We created (as we do every year internally), a “Program Card” for each student with an IEP.
• All teachers and providers have access to their corresponding student’s Program Cards. In-person teachers (as always) have been instructed to ensure that if they are pulling a small group, it should not occur during one of their student's scheduled sessions.
• Remote teachers have been instructed that students and families should not have to choose between live instruction provided by their teacher and a related service they require (i.e., a live lesson and service session scheduled at the same day and time). As a result, teacher instructional schedules have started to shift and will continue to shift to accommodate all students equitably.
• If you would like a copy of your child’s “Program Card” please request it from your child’s teacher.