A recent Politico article examines one of the significant challenges facing Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration: how to improve New York City’s special education system while addressing the substantial and growing costs associated with private school tuition, related services, legal fees, and other expenses incurred when the public school system cannot appropriately serve students with disabilities.
The article outlines the Mamdani administration’s plans to invest more heavily in special education within New York City public schools, including expanding specialized programs, adding special education seats and staff, and increasing the City’s capacity to provide appropriate services directly to students. The broader goal is to strengthen the public system while reducing the need for families to pursue private placements and services through the due process system.
SkyerLaw Senior Partner Jesse Cole Cutler spoke with Politico about what is driving those rising costs and why the focus cannot simply be on the amount the City is spending.
“The growth in spending [is] the fiscal symptom of a system that all too often fails to deliver appropriate programs and services on the front end and then forces families into litigation to obtain what their children are legally entitled to receive in the first place,” Jesse told Politico.
His comments highlight an important distinction in the conversation surrounding special education spending: due process claims are often the result of families seeking services after the public school system has failed to provide an appropriate program for their child. Addressing costs, therefore, requires addressing the underlying shortcomings that lead families to pursue legal remedies in the first place.
For families of students with disabilities, the administration’s focus on strengthening public-school special education programs is an important development. Meaningful investment in appropriate programs, staffing and services could benefit students throughout the City, while preserving the legal protections that allow families to advocate for their children when the system falls short.
Read the full Politico article:
The Costly Special Education System NYC Can’t Afford to Ignore
