Too many city schools are no place for kids with special needs, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara charged in a report delivered to Education Department officials Monday.
A staggering 83% of city schools are not “fully accessible” to children with disabilities, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Bharara found.
That means obstacles such as stairs or tight hallways prevent kids with special needs from entering all the classrooms and public spaces in those schools.
In his 14-page letter, based on the results of a two-year federal probe, Bharara argued that the city schools’ facilities for kids with disabilities are unacceptable.
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“Our investigation revealed that, 25 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the city is still not fully compliant,” Bharara said. “Children with disabilities and their families are being denied the right to equal access to a public school education.”
Bharara also found that six of the city’s 32 local school districts, which serve more than 50,000 elementary school kids, did not have a single school that is fully accessible.
Bharara gave the city 30 days to respond to the findings of his investigation and letter, asking for a timeline with “corrective actions the city intends to undertake.”
About 193,000 kids in city schools have special needs.
Those students face lower academic achievement levels and higher suspension rates than typical kids.
The lack of ADA compliance in the city schools is a widespread issue that educators and advocates say is worsened by outdated facilities and limited resources.
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A report issued by the Citywide Council on Special Education in November found only one in five city schools has adequate facilities for kids with physical disabilities.
City Education Department spokesman Harry Hartfield said the agency is reviewing the findings of Bharara’s probe.
The city’s five-year capital improvement plan for the public schools adopted in June contains $100 million to fund projects to boost accessibility, Hartfield added.
“Our goal is to ensure that all our students have access to a high-quality education,” said Hartfield. “A student’s disability should never get in the way.”
