DOE: Rich Parents Want Us To Pay For Kids' Private School

Because of a few U.S. Supreme Court decisions, parents of special-needs children can ask that the DOE pay for private school if public school options aren't adequate. Last year, the city's department spent $116 million reimbursing parents, mainly in the wealthier areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn. However, many parents never tried sending their kids to public school before squeezing the DOE for their pennies. Michael Best, general counsel at the DOE, told the Wall Street Journal, "No one begrudges parents the right to send their children to private school. But this system was not intended as a way for private school parents to get the taxpayers to fund their children's tuition." Well, how do you think they stay rich?

In the past three years, the number of parents living in some of the city's most affluent neighborhoods who have sued the DOE for inadequate public school options has more than doubled. There are more claims filed in the city for special-education reimbursement than in any other district, but data shows that half of the claims come from households where the kids never went to public school, suggesting parents are just looking for a cheap way to get their kids a private school education. But one lawyer defended her clients, saying, "The law is an entitlement law much like Social Security or Medicare. If Congress wanted the law to be means tested they could have written it that way."

Matthew Mittenthal, a DOE spokesman, argued that "these are dollars that would otherwise be going directly to the classroom, to fund supplies and textbooks, instruction and additional supports for high-needs students." But other officials say the department shouldn't avoid the issue by blaming parents so seemingly quick to jump ship. Winston Prep Schools executive director Scott Bezsylko said, "Perhaps those concerned should work with us to expand access among low-income students instead of criticizing those of any income level who exercise their legal right to obtain a free and appropriate education."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jaya Saxena in News on August 18, 2010 11:16 AM

Comments [rss]

wow 14th street

Gee, I wonder which is easier to sue for "special needs"

The NY Board of Ed. or NYS Medicaid for special needs of

a brain damaged wife who needs a nursing home for 10

- 15 years at 25 thousand dollars a month.

Answer The Board of ED.

Suing the Medicaid schemers one has to find a lawyer

and sue as an un uncooperating spouse just to keep a few

thousand dollars for one's own needs,then when you die

usually Medicaid will attach anything they can use towards the bill especially if childless ,this does not happen say if a special needs gifted child becomes a well know musician or artist from the taxpayer sending them to private school.no legal plan is in place for the BOE

to recover that money ,ever.

Kids who are "sick" have it better then grown up's who

are sick.

Anyway as Dick Gregory said years ago "If you make it

smile ,if you take it smile".

bashmentgirl

Children that receive a special education are entitled to something known as FAPE (free appropriate public education). Courts have also ruled that if the DOE can't provide appropriate education then parents can find one on the DOE's dime. I agree with this. However, if a family has the financial resources to pay for an appropriate education, then don't ask the city to do it. People who do this should be ashamed of themselves.

Snowdriftd

I am a big fan of Gothamist, but as a parent of a Special Needs child who has been in both the public school system and the funded special needs school system, I am angered by your choice to run such an ignorant piece. The parents who are able to get funding for their children to attend one of the private SN schools are not necessarily wealthy, but they are usually either educated or have advocacy support. These schools are very specific in the populations that they serve, and only children who meet that criteria are accepted. Most have been in special needs pre-schools beforehand or have attended public schools and been failed by them. To make it sound like there are some Park Avenue parents working the system to get free private school for their child who could otherwise attend a non-special needs school is bullshit. Gothamist editors, you didn't do your homework. No parent wants a child with special needs.

Jim

PS. the country/city would be a lot better place if it had more parents like you. thanks.

Jim

Don't blame Gothamist, they now how to push buttons to get page views. Blame the readers. They all consider themselves compassionate liberal types, but god forbid you get the dreaded "privileged" label. Then you are the devil incarnate. A parent using their time, money, energy to better their child? out fucking rageous!

backgroundgeo

In order to obtain funding one needs to go before a Hearing Officer and win the case - DOE stated the reason why we wanted our son in a special education program to get him into a private school – We just wanted an appropriate class setting -The DOE wanted to put my son who has a severe learning disability in a class with retarded students which was not an appropriate class setting - The Hearing Officer said we were in the right. Yes, people with the knowledge of the available resources are most often those who have the means to hire a lawyer - Unfortunately, lower income people don't have the financial resources and the knowledge of their rights - BOE stop complaining and do what the law requires - Every child is legally eligible for an appropriate placement - Unfortunately most often the BOE doesn't follow the rule of the law!

Motherofchildwithdisabilities

First, I can promise you that no parent, if they had a choice, would want their child to have the stigma of "special needs." Secondly, public school is not "free". Your taxes are allocated to each child, with a special needs child allocated "x" amount, a regular needs child allocated "y" amount. And if you think that the actual amounts are received by the public school and used for the care, support and education of each child, you are sadly mistaken. While a typical child can rise to the occassion despite odds,a special needs child cannot -- and this is one of the major reasons parents turn to private education. When my son was in public school, he was warehoused, and not educated. He did not receive the PT, OT and Speech that he was scheduled to receive. He sat in a classroom with a burnt out teacher, five other kids and four paraprofessionals... Blame anyone - blame teacher unions, blame over administrated schools, blame the board of ed...but for the sake of my child - do not blame me or him. And finally for those of you who think it is so witty to suggest he not exist, I can tell you, he is the best of all of us. He is kind, he is loving and he would never even conceive of writing or saying any of the idiocy and cruelty that I have seen among these comments.

farleft

+1

inbrooklyn

Wow. We live in Park Slope and we love our love public school. Our younger son, aged 6, goes there, but our older son has learning difficulties and is in a private school. The fact of the matter is, we do NOT get our kid diagnoised so that he could go to a private school. He goes to a school that specializes in teaching kids with special needs and the DOE has NOTHING. The DOE does not have a proper program for kids with learning difficulties (not special ed) who may may have visual or audio processing problems (ie, dyslexia) and need small classrooms with specially trained teachers. We would have loved nothing more than to keep our son in public school but they simply could not help us (and they tried). The DOE makes us sue the city in order to get back 80% to 90% of the tuition because the school he attend is not on the official DOE list. If it were, the DOE would just pay for it out right without us having to sue. This is a bad system that no one likes and I can say for sure that no parent would want there kid to be pulled out and go to a special school if they did not need it.

JenChungsBaby

It's not so black and white. Private school for a special needs kid could be as much as $85,000/yr or even more. Even someone we'd consider rich might not be able to pay that.

Sketto

Well then find a school that isn't $85,000 a year. Or move somewhere cheaper. Or make more money. Or reduce your spending. Or sell your car. Or borrow from your rich uncle. Or just accept that you're poor and you and your kid will have to make due with less. It's done every day by real people.

By far, the worst option is: Let's make other taxpayers responsible!

JenChungsBaby

Actually the worst option would be to provide no suitable education to special needs kids.

Dave Aiello

Sometimes everybody in the classroom has a less fulfilling experience when special needs kids are mainstreamed inappropriately. I don't think making these judgements is easy at all.

Dogsbody

If these kids are genuinely disabled in some way (I know that's a debate in its own right), and therefore need some kind of special school, then I don't see the problem with this.

Certain kids just cannot be taught in a regular public school - the schools just don't have the expertise and/or resources to educate such kids.

Therefore, why shouldn't the parents get some form of voucher or allowance so that they can send their kid to an appropriate specialist school.

Armchair_warrior

legal theft, they shouldn't of had them kids to begin with. its wasn't of money, some of those kids probably can't take care of themselves with help through rest of their lives.

instead of wasting finite resources. should be better spent on more better productive students in our society.

fuboy

Considering that something like Down Syndrome can't be detected before birth, I'm not sure how your opinion would work.

Should we enact a law that lets parents kill a newborn if it's shown to have a similar condition? If so, we should probably add stuff like Polio in there too. It would be the best way to create an America that's free of natural affliction and mental deficiency.

Is that where you want to go with this?