Dear Mayor-Elect Bill DeBlasio,

In case you are wondering, I voted for you. I heard that you were the most special-education friendly candidate. I have a six-year old son on the autism spectrum. He goes to a state-approved nonpublic school. I wanted him to go to public school but the ones we were offered were not appropriate.

I heard that you care about ALL people. This kind of inclusion is what our city needs. We have been a city of haves and have nots for too long. As you go through this transition period, you are probably wondering how you can help families like mine. Funny you should ask.

Here are some of the things we need for our special education children:

Educating Our Children

We need a complete overhaul of the Department of Education. This includes the appointment of a new School Chancellor. One who wants all children to succeed regardless of if they are in general education or special education. We want a chancellor who puts actions behind his words through the way resources and funds are allocated. We need better, I mean “appropriate” schools for special education students in every borough in New York City. We need schools that provide the resources and services that our children need. We are tired of having to fight at IEP meetings We need teachers and staff working with our children who understand their diagnoses. We need up-to-date teaching methodologies like Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) in more city schools. We need school district members on the IEP team to have a basic idea of the IDEA law, so they can come into meetings informed before they tell us what we can and can’t have.

Transportation

The Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT) is a mess. Can you imagine any of your children riding on a school bus in 90-degree weather with no air conditioning? We need a new fleet of buses with dual AC. Bus routes are too long and convoluted. Out-of-borough and in-borough time limits for bus routes are out dated. We need better communication about our children’s bus routes and bus routers who understand traffic patterns before they assign bus routes. We need better contracts put in place with bus companies, so that our children are not left out in the cold like they were during the last bus strike. Let’s call it as it is…our children suffered the most. When things go wrong, we need a speedy resolution. I should not have to contact my borough OPT director to resolve issues

As you can see we need a lot and I am sure other parents can add a lot more to my list. As a result of these needs, I am proposing the following:

A series of town hall meetings in every borough with special education parents. This will give us an opportunity to share ideas and brainstorm solutions. The creation of a Special Education Task Force. The sole purpose of this task force would be to oversee the revamp of the Department of Education including the Office of Pupil Transportation. There should be a parent representative(s) on this task force.

Pardon the cliché but we can’t kick the can down the road any longer. Things are not getting better they are getting worse. Your election into office was a mandate. It was a mandate for change and the inclusion of everyone. We look forward to working with you. Congratulations!

Sincerely,

Miz Kp

Readers: What would you add to my list? Share your thoughts in the comments.