CRISIS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION SCHOOLS AND PRESCHOOLS
By Daren Cerrone, Coordinator of School Age Programs, and Kim McAdoo, Coordinator of Manhattan Campus, Hawthorne Foundation Inc.
I am here today representing Hawthorne Foundation Inc., which operates 4410 special education preschools and 853 special education schools for students from Westchester and New York City. 4410 and 853 nonprofit schools serve students who have been referred by the Committee on Special Education upon a determination that the public schools do not have the capacity to serve them due to the severity of their disabilities.
Every year, the cost of operating our schools continues to rise, but the level of funding we receive does not keep pace with these costs. As a result, several 4410 and 853 providers have ceased operating, which further limits the availability of placements for children in need. Hawthorne alone receives 500 referrals a year from the Department of Education and Westchester school districts, and can only serve a small fraction of those students. If this situation is not addressed, many more 4410s and 853s will be forced to close, leaving thousands of students without services.
Because our schools are funded at a rate far below that for public schools, we are not able to pay our teachers, related service providers, teaching assistants and aides a competitive salary. Our staff must hold the same certifications as their public school counterparts, but they are not entitled to the salary increases, New York State pension and other benefits commonly associated with this profession. This has led to vacancy rates as high as 30% in some schools in a given year. It also means that the children with the most complex learning and behavioral needs are often being taught by the least experienced staff. Moreover, when we are able to hire teachers and other professionals, they do not stay at our schools for long. It is no secret that many of the best trained special education teachers and related service providers in public schools were actually trained by 4410 and 853 schools!
Our already inadequate funding is further threatened by the State Education Department’s current rate setting methodology. When there are staff vacancies, schools often close classrooms. As a result, schools face a reduction in tuition rates, because they did not spend all of the funds allocated to their program. It is a no-win situation.
A recent change in special education teacher certification requirements further threatens 853 middle and high school programs. As of July 1, 2020, our schools will be required to employ teachers certified in special education and every subject area in order to teach students in self-contained classrooms who may be on track to receive a local or Regents diploma. It will be impossible to find those teachers or to pay for them, and there isn’t enough time provided to meet this mandate.
For schools operating in New York City and the surrounding suburbs, the situation is even more critical due, in part, to the conflict of interest policy with the Department of Education (DOE). That is, the DOE can immediately hire staff who work in our 4410 and 853 schools, but our providers are generally unable to hire DOE staff until one year after they leave employment at DOE. This further shrinks the already limited pool of qualified applicants.
Moreover, the recent salary parity agreement for public universal pre-k teachers in New York City and teachers in Community Based Organizations providing preschool will have a devastating impact on 4410 programs in the city and the surrounding suburbs, as more certified teachers choose to work in higher paid 10 month city UPK programs instead of 12 month special education classrooms.
So, what do we need?
- Yearly tuition increases for 4410 and 853 schools comparable to what school districts receive
- State and City funding to increase teacher salaries in 4410 and 853 schools to match starting salaries for public school and New York City UPK teachers
- A change in the New York State Education Department’s rate setting methodology that does not penalize schools for staff and student vacancies
- A mass waiver to allow former DOE employees to immediately work at 4410 and 853 schools
- A waiver from, or time extension for, the recently announced mandate to employ teachers certified in special education and math, science, social studies and English in self-contained classrooms for students who may be on track for local or Regents diplomas
Thank you.