Preschool-age children entitled to special education services often wait longer for services than necessary and some enter kindergarten without ever receiving the services they need, an audit by the New York State Comptroller’s Office has found.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education, which is tasked with ensuring children receive the services they are entitled to, is failing, the audit said. The department has failed to: track how many children are on school district waiting lists; determine how districts determine which children receive what services and when; and monitor service delivery gaps in each district.
Children may receive special preschool services in a district program, a private preschool, or another program. Many neighborhoods lack the space and resources to provide all services immediately.
While SED has made plans to better monitor programs and services, DiNapoli makes it clear that children are paying the costs.
“Providing timely, quality early childhood education services to preschoolers with special needs can make a world of difference in their development, and delays can have long-term consequences for their academic futures,” Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a statement.
Christine Ditrano, executive director of student services at Rockland BOCES, agrees. The sooner children get the support they need, the better the outcome – for the child, the family and society. “The money you spend on early special education saves you money because it takes less time to recover.”
As of October 2022, 40,846 New York children were enrolled in early childhood special education services and programs, according to state Education Department data.
About 83% of school districts surveyed in the audit reported having waiting lists for children ages 3 to 5 who need special early childhood education. It is not unusual for a child to enter kindergarten before any services have been provided.
While the comptroller’s audit summarizes the challenges, Ditrano said waitlists are a function of limited resources.
“Everyone is trying to meet the need,” Ditrano said. “It’s not for lack of trying.”
What’s behind New York’s preschool special education delays?
Early childhood education services may include speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, specialized instruction, parent training, and counseling.
Most New York regions do not have enough providers with the right skills to support all children who need help.
Heather Boyle, special education teacher at Rockland BOCES, works with Jesus, Aguirre at Rockland BOCES in West Nyack on December 11, 2024. BOCES began offering preschool special education classes last year with the support of local school districts to address a shortage of special education options before elementary school for Rockland families.
Some children may only need help in one area, such as speech therapy, and they can get additional help in a pre-K program. Other children may need more support.
Children, including those with more complex needs and behavioral problems, are too often left at home if they cannot receive the therapies they need.
Rockland BOCES is starting a program because schools need help with IEPs
Rockland BOCES developed a special pre-K program last year to address the shortage of community-based programs. School districts in the county had asked for help creating the Individualized Education Programs, or IEPs, for children, which outline services for children with disabilities.
Ditrano said it has made a big difference. “The sooner they get their services, the better chance they have of making a profit,” she said of the children running back and forth in their classroom at BOCES’ West Nyack branch one recent morning.
A little help for the little ones: Rockland BOCES is opening a preschool to connect children earlier with important educational supports
Noah Hernandez-Garcia, 4, sat with his teacher, Mandy Kaufman, judging colors. He then took off with his favorite book, ‘My Many Colored Days’, by Dr. Seuss. When he flipped to the purple page, he roared like a dinosaur.
Mandy Kaufman, a Rockland BOCES pre-k special education teacher, works with Noah Hernandez-Garcia, 4, at Rockland BOCES in West Nyack on December 11, 2024. BOCES began offering pre-k special education classes last year with the support of local school districts to address a shortage of special education options for children in Rockland.
For Ditrano, it was a moment that was illustrative of everything Noah has accomplished in his year in the program. When he came, he didn’t use any language at all. Now he can name colors and use expressive language.
Ditrano said classroom interaction helps children reach another important milestone: readiness to learn. Children learn to interact with a teacher, in a group, with a peer. “This is very important for growth,” she says.
Still, there is a need for more slots, Ditrano said. She hopes to add capacity to the BOCES preschool program in the coming years.
How special preschool education should work in New York
If a child between the ages of 3 and 5 is believed to need special education services, a parent or guardian, or a childcare or other program, may send a written request to the local school district.
State law requires a child to have an IEP and receive needed services within 60 days of a parent or guardian agreeing to an evaluation.
Mandy Kaufman, a Rockland BOCES pre-k special education teacher, monitors children as they play on December 11, 2024. Rockland BOCES began offering pre-k special education classes last year with the support of local school districts to create a address the shortage of pre-k special education. K special education opportunities for Rockland families.
The state education department has an office of special education quality, or SEQA, in each region, tasked with ensuring the 60-day timeline is met. SEQA should also ensure that infants who have received early intervention services are directed to special preschool services.
Although SEQA assesses compliance retroactively, it only looks at about one-sixth of all districts each year. So problems such as children not receiving needed services can go unnoticed for a long time.
“Without information about the service availability problem,” the comptroller states, “SED cannot determine what types of services are needed in which districts and which student needs are not being met due to provider shortages.”
This article originally appeared in Rockland/Westchester Journal News: New York special early childhood education often delayed or denied: audit
