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NYC spent $1.3B on private education for students with disabilities last year
By
Jessica Gould
Published Jan 16, 2025
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Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
By
Jessica Gould
Published Jan 16, 2025
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Mayor Eric Adams' administration spent a record $1.35 billion last year to cover the cost of private schools and programs for students with disabilities who can’t be served in public schools, even as education officials say they’re getting control of a “broken system.”
Liz Vladeck, the education department’s general counsel, said the spending reflects a successful effort to address a backlog of cases going back as much as eight years. But even as long-pending cases are resolved, a surge of new cases is adding additional costs to the system criticized by both parents and education department leaders. In the 2021-22 school year there were 17,833 complaints brought on behalf of students with disabilities. In the 2023-24 school year, that number had grown to 26,215.
“We're very proud of how effective we've been at catching up on what was being called a totally broken system,” Vladeck said in an interview with Gothamist.
The spending, which includes services, tuition and transportation, has continued to skyrocket despite Adams and the schools chancellors’ efforts to serve more students with disabilities within the public school system rather than settling with families who sue to cover services that public schools can’t provide.
Gothamist has previously reported on education department initiatives to expand preschool special education seats and specialized programs for students with dyslexia and autism. Parents with children in those programs say they’ve been life-changing.
But the programs are just getting off the ground and aren’t meeting demand. As an example, studies have estimated anywhere from 5% to 20% of students have dyslexia. Experts say many students with dyslexia need explicit reading instruction either one-on-one or in very small groups that most public schools do not provide. There are more than 900,000 students in city public schools.
Many parents choose to enroll their kids in private schools with instruction tailored to students with disabilities. Yearly tuition at those schools often starts at around $70,000. Parents typically front the cost and sue the city for reimbursement. State law also requires the city to cover other types of special education services, including speech therapy, occupational therapy, or specialized instructional support at private schools, including religious schools.
In 2022, then-Schools Chancellor David Banks drew a direct connection between controversial education budget cuts and the ballooning spending on reimbursements for students with disabilities at private schools.
“All this money that is meant for the kids in our public schools are going to private schools,” Banks said during a meeting with parent advisers, according to a Chalkbeat report.
“This is money that’s going out the back door every single day.”
The number of lawsuits brought by students seeking special education support in private schools has spiked by 20% each year since 2022, according to an education department spokesperson — or about 4,000 additional cases each year, she said.
The cases are handled by an “impartial hearing officer” hired by the city, rather than a judge. Two-thirds of the complaints were for special education services like specialized instructional support for private school students, while a third was for tuition reimbursement at private schools tailored for students with disabilities.
In 2022, the New York Times reported that Hasidic schools were significant recipients of taxpayer money for special education, even though some of the services were not needed or provided.
Vladeck said the surge in cases is likely due to a mix of factors, including an increase in diagnoses for disabilities, such as autism, ADHD and dyslexia. But she said there have also been some instances of “fraud.”
In 2020, New York Legal Assistance Group filed a class-action lawsuit saying the city’s delays getting cases heard violated the rights of parents under state and federal law to have their cases processed quickly.
In 2022, the city put $38 million toward hiring new lawyers to address the backlog.
Education department officials said the additional attorneys have helped move the cases along. Vladeck said the average case time has dropped 50%. “We are moving cases at a much faster pace,” she said.
Tagged
new york city
education
Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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