DOE will miss September deadline for GPS on NYC school buses

Skyer Law partners Jesse Cole Cutler and Diana Gersten at the press conference prior to the 2018 City Council hearing on school bus problems.

In January, we announced that the NYC Council had unanimously passed a bill to mandate GPS on all school buses and to provide parents and schools with an app to track where the bus is in real time. The bill was introduced by Council Member Ben Kallos. Our firm helped to craft the bill language and suggested its introduction. We testified at the City Council hearing about the importance of its passage.

After the new law was enacted, the DOE released a request for proposals in March and reportedly received nine bids for the contract. Unfortunately, as reported in The City today, the Department of Education is not on track to meet the legally mandated September launch of this service.

Access to GPS data is a simple, common-sense solution to many of the everyday stresses our clients face when it comes to school busing. While we are all disappointed that parents will not have access to GPS in September, we are hopeful about press reports that the DOE is “finalizing” a contract with an app developer. Still, it is concerning that the city doesn’t have a timeline for implementation.

Since legal deadlines do not seem to matter to the DOE, continued public pressure is needed. Contact the Mayor’s office and your City Council Members to make your views known.

Albany ends religious exemptions for vaccinations of schoolchildren (updated)

On June 13th, the NYS legislature passed a bill (A.02371A/S.02994-A) eliminating religious exemptions for vaccines. Governor Cuomo signed the bill into law that night.  The next morning, our phones began ringing with questions from many of our clients.  

This new law became effective immediately and applies to public, private, and parochial schools. However, this does not mean that a child who had a valid religious exemption on June 13th cannot go to school today.

The law gives parents 14 days to provide proper documentation to schools or to demonstrate that their child has received the first doses of all required vaccines for their age. Parents have 30 days to demonstrate that they have appointments scheduled for the remainder of all required doses.

This means that children who have lost their religious exemption status, and who are attending school right now, must receive the first dose of age-appropriate vaccinations in each series by June 28th in order to keep attending school. Parents must also show that they have appointments scheduled to receive the remainder of the required doses by July 14th.

New York State follows the Center for Disease Control’s guidance for vaccine requirements. See: Recommended Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule for ages 18 years or younger

We want to reassure the parents of children who have a medical exemption that this new law does not impact those exemptions. Parents may download a form for requesting medical exemptions from vaccines from the NYC Department of Education’s website. The form must be filled out by your child’s treating physician. In our experience medical exemptions are generally reserved for very ill, immunocompromised children, such as those who are receiving chemotherapy treatments. Autism and developmental disability, food allergies (including egg allergies), contact with immunocompromised or pregnant persons, or other family history will not result in a medical exemption.

Albany ends religious exemptions for vaccinations of schoolchildren—medical exemption rules are unchanged

Last night, the NYS legislature passed a bill (A.02371A/S.02994-A) eliminating religious exemptions for vaccines. Governor Cuomo has signed the bill into law.  This morning, our phones have been ringing and questions are coming in from many of our clients.  

This new law is effective immediately and applies to both public and private schools. However, this does not mean that a child who had a valid religious exemption yesterday cannot go to school today or tomorrow. Parents are given 14 days to provide proper documentation to schools. A principal can extend this grace period to 30 days if a parent can provide documentation that the child has received the first dose of all required vaccines and has appointments to receive the remainder of the vaccination protocol.

Most importantly, we want to reassure the parents of children who have a medical exemption that this new law does not impact those exemptions. Parents may download a form for requesting medical exemptions from vaccines from the NYC Department of Education’s website. The form must be filled out by your child’s treating physician. In our experience medical exemptions are generally reserved for very ill, immunocompromised children, such as those who are receiving chemotherapy treatments. Autism and developmental disability, food allergies (including egg allergies), contact with immunocompromised or pregnant persons, or other family history will not result in a medical exemption.

New in 2019: Paperless Retainers

By now, most Skyer Law client families should have received an email asking you to review and electronically sign your 2019-20 retainers. (If you haven’t, it’s coming soon!) This year, we are moving from paper to electronic retainers to reduce waste and more efficiently serve our clients.

Some of our clients have contacted us with issues signing their retainer.  If your name is not at the bottom of the document where you are supposed to sign, or if you only see the second parent’s name, simply click on the blank and type yours in or click on the other person’s name, delete it, and type yours in.

As long as you use your unique link, it will all be merged properly in the final signed document. 

We apologize for the technical glitches as we adopt this new paperless system. Please email Ben Foley in our office if you have further questions.

Upcoming Event: Autism Advocacy Panel at Shrub Oak International School 4/16

Shrub Oak International School is hosting a panel discussion about the educational and legal rights of individuals with special needs as part of their ongoing professional series on special education issues. Shrub Oak has assembled an impressive selection of top New York special education attorneys, including Skyer Law partner Greg Cangiano.

The event is being held on Tuesday, April 16th from 7:00pm-8:30pm and includes an informal reception with light refreshments and a Q&A.

Shrub Oak International School is located in Mohegan Lake, NY. RSVP to events@shruboak.org or call (914) 885-0110, ext. 739, for more information.