Join Us in Our Fight Against Breast Cancer

Hi Everyone,

 Join the Skyer Law team this Sunday, October 19th in Central Park as we participate in the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk! Look for our team "Sky's The Limit" and visit our home page: Making Strides - Sky's The Limit

 We'd love you to walk with us, but if not we hope you support this worthwhile cause. 

Update on de Blasio's New Policy of Fast Tracking Tuition Reimbursement Cases

On August 20th our office filed notices in cases seeking tuition reimbursement for private school placement. As of today, the DOE has responded to 80 percent of these notices, recommending settlement in 60 percent of the cases. We are told that the remaining 20 percent where we have not had a response are still being reviewed by DOE lawyers. This is the first year since 1993 when the Supreme Court issued the landmark Carter decision that the city is recommending tuition reimbursement based solely on the required 10 day notices. We are calling this “fast tracking.” I refer you back to my Blog of August 20th which summarizes this new fast track policy: Follow up Re: Mayor's New Policy

 

In cases where settlement has been recommended, negotiations between our paralegals and the Department of Education paralegals are already underway. We have been in touch with all the private schools and we are also asking parents to provide us with documents.

 

On the cases where we are told that the DOE is not “fast tracking” settlements, we are now drafting and filing detailed Hearing Requests. Once these hearing requests are filed the Department of Education will review them and determine whether to recommend settlement or proceed to impartial hearing. Our hearing requests are extremely detailed and legally nuanced and we are optimistic that in most cases settlement will be recommended.

 

This is all good news and we are happy that the policy initiative put in place by Mayor de Blasio is actually being implemented. Stay tuned and we’ll continue to keep you posted.

 

Best,  

Regina

Follow Up Re: Mayor's Policy

Many of you have been emailing and calling asking for an update on the Mayor’s June 24th Policy Memorandum on Special Education Settlements.  Well, here’s the news hot off the press: on August 14th the DOE’s Office of General Counsel held a meeting with lawyers and advocates practicing in this area.  The important “take aways” from this meeting are as follows:

 

1.       The DOE will absolutely continue to litigate cases where they believe a student has been offered a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”). This is the same as it has always been.

 

2.      The biggest change will be that when we file our Notices of Unilateral Placement (this year they are being filed on August 20th) the DOE will consider settlement only under the following conditions:

 

a.       The parent prevailed in a prior year at an impartial hearing, and the DOE did not appeal this decision and it concerned the same placement;

b.      There was a settlement the prior year for the same placement and circumstances;

c.       When a student is entering a “terminal grade in a school” that the DOE has previously funded (good for all you 8th graders at Gaynor, and seniors at MMFS, WP, RLS, EH, Windward, etc.)

 

3.      The changes in the payment process when the DOE does recommend settlement should be the most dramatic change.  When the DOE agrees to settle a case they will finalize the settlement/negotiation process within 90 days of making a determination to settle a case and begin to pay out on these cases 30 days after this.  This will help most parents who find themselves in a difficult cash flow position.

 

4.      For students first entering the DOE/CSE system, and for those turning five students leaving CPSE and entering CSE, nothing has changed.  The new policy will not effect your case this year.  Accordingly, we will file Notices for you on August 20th and between September and November we will file hearing requests.  For this group of students settlement offers will only be made after the filing of an impartial hearing request.

 

5.  Any notice that was filed earlier than August 20th, meaning for our 12 month students, this policy will not apply.  Hearing requests must be filed and our offices will do these between September 4th through 11th. The good news is that once the hearing request is filed 12 month students will be considered under the expedited settlement process.

 

               Your team at Skyer Law has been meeting continuously about this new policy.  Our decision is to write extremely detailed notices, giving the DOE enough information to push them towards a settlement.  This year’s notices are akin to any hearing request filed in years past.  We are filing these notices on August 20th and we’ll update you again as soon as there’s more information.

 

               Enjoy these last hazy, crazy days of summer –   Regina and Company