Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Parents: NYC Teacher Shortage Hurts Special Ed Students The Most
By
Jessica Gould
Published Oct 15, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jessica Gould
Published Oct 15, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Some New York City parents point to the teacher shortage in the public school system as having an especially harmful impact on children enrolled in the special-education program known as integrated co-teaching (ICT) which requires two teachers per class, rather than one.
Parents, teachers, administrators, and advocates for students with disabilities told Gothamist/WNYC the under-staffing problem was widespread. Administrators said they have no choice and teachers have filed grievances through their union.
Ben Landfield, an eighth grader at M.S. 447 in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, who chose to learn remotely this year, said he used to be an honors student but, with only one teacher per class, has struggled.
“I feel so far behind and I feel like I'm never going to catch up,” he said.
“My child needs support and he needs help,” said his father, Matthew Landfield. “Otherwise the legal requirement of a fair and accessible education is not being provided.”
At issue are the students’ legally-binding Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) which require they are taught by two teachers—one licensed in general education and one licensed in special education—alongside their general-education peers. During a regular year, about 100,000 students are enrolled in the ICT program and attend classes that have no more than 40% (or 12) students with disabilities. Now, due to the pandemic staffing shortage, many students instead find themselves in classes with a single general-education teacher or a single special-education teacher, not both.
A spokesperson for the city’s Department of Education, Danielle Filson, said current ICT classes meet the legal mandates because the teachers are working together, even if the students don’t see it.
Listen to Jessica Gould's radio story for WNYC:
“ICT is a collaborative model, and both teachers are collaborating to deliver curriculum in service to the whole class, with the differentiation that our students with disabilities require,” she said.
Tamuira Reid chose the blended-learning model for her 4th grader who attends P.S. 3 in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. Because her son sees only one teacher in his remote and in-person settings, she said he’s falling behind.
“His math skills have gone down, his reading skills have gone down. But mostly his writing [has deteriorated],” she said. “It's horrible, and then he just feels bad about himself.”
She and Landfield praised the teachers at their schools; they put the blame on elected officials at all levels of government, pointing to the lack of a federal stimulus package from Washington.
“It's putting the city in this financial position and it's having real consequences on children, on my child, right now, in real time,” Landfield said. “And I don't know how we get the time back. My son is 12 and a half, going to be 13 soon, and he's only going to be that once. He's only going to be in 8th grade once.”
M.S. 447 Principal Arin Rusch confirmed that her teachers are working together on ICT curriculum, planning coursework, and taking turns leading classes, but that the only way to make the staffing numbers work was to split them up.
“Every day I fill out a survey [from the education department]. And every day I say I need 20 teachers in order to cover ICT properly,” Rusch said, adding that inclusive education was a centerpiece of the school.
“I would really like to be able to provide ICT kids with what they need,” she said. “It’s a huge part of what we do, feel good about, and are good at. To know that we are not providing this for a good chunk of our kids is a pretty bad feeling.”
Mark Cannizzaro, the president of Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, the union that represents principals, said the ICT programs have been “especially challenging” to staff.
“While school leaders are doing everything in their power to keep students safe and provide them with the highest quality of education possible, the city’s current solutions are not sustainable,” he said.
Maggie Moroff, special-education coordinator at the nonprofit group Advocates for Children, said ICT was designed to serve students with disabilities and those without.
“The goal is inclusion, having those kids learn side by side with their more typical peers,” she said, with the help of a special-education teacher who provides supports and accommodations.
Filson, of the DOE, said the department would continue to add staff over the course of the school year.
Tagged
COVID-19
pandemic
schools reopening
remote learning
nyc public schools
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]
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .