Subject:

Support New York's Special Schools

Dear Legislator,

As your constituent and someone who cares deeply about public education, I strongly urge you to support the state's special schools, which provide a diverse array of programs designed to meet the unique educational needs of the state's most vulnerable, traumatized, disabled and marginalized youth. These schools provide education and related services to school-age students who, for many reasons, are unable to be served by either the local public schools or BOCES. These schools were specifically created to meet the intense needs of students placed by the juvenile justice, child welfare, mental health, developmental disability and special education systems. This vital continuum provides students with disabilities or with severe behavioral, emotional, educational or physical challenges, both day and residential options to meet their individual educational and therapeutic needs.

Social-emotional and academic needs, which have been amplified by the pandemic, have resulted in increased costs that endanger the future of Special Act, 853 and 4201 Schools as well as 4410 Programs. It is imperative that the state properly support these schools, the students who require these services and the educators who provide them.

Funding for these programs should be increased to support the actual needs of the students, and flexibility in the funding for these schools should be provided for the unique services these students require. These schools are funded entirely through an antiquated and inefficient rate-setting process rather than school aid formulas and local school tax levies. The executive budget and both one-house budgets include an additional $1.4 million to continue to study and revise the way these schools are funded. I fully support this proposal and ask that it is included in the final enacted budget.

I also urge you to ensure that the final enacted budget includes a $30 million program, over three years, for 4201 Schools so that they may recruit and retain educators and direct care staff. I also call on you and your colleagues to ensure that the final enacted budget provides increases in tuition rates that correspond with the support provided to public schools; includes investments of $20 million in the Excessive Teacher Turnover grant; and creates a $40 million Direct Services Turnover grant to recruit and retain both educators and staff in Special Act and 853 Schools and 4410 Programs, portions of which were in the one-house budgets. Finally, I urge you to provide capital funding in the enacted budget to address the critical building, health and safety needs in our special schools.

Thank you for your consideration of this important matter. I look forward to a reply to my e-mail.

Sincerely,

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