In a letter to the Governor, Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, Chair of the Assembly’s Sub-Committee on Autism Spectrum Disorders, is calling on the Governor to ensure special needs students who would otherwise age out of school this year do not lose the education they are entitled to as a result of the pandemic.

In New York State students are entitled to attend public school until the end of the school year in which they turn 21. Under the circumstances, this aged out population will not be able to return to school to make-up all that they’ve lost in educational needs during the pandemic.

Many special needs students have been unable to receive many of the important services defined in their Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) during COVID-19. These plans are unique to each special education student and outline the services and supports for speech, visual, hearing and a number of other learning disabilities that the State has an obligation to provide. Many of the one-on-one services in each plan, including occupational and physical therapy, simply could not be effectively provided online.

Santabarbara wrote, “Although most schools have been able to adapt to online education during the pandemic, many special education students have been unable to engage in remote learning or to adapt to online lessons, for some it means losing the last year of education they are entitled to.” In the letter, Santabarbara is urging the Governor to make the necessary changes that would allow students who will be aging out of the school system this year to return for the 2020-2021 school year to receive the education they lost during the pandemic.”

“I urge you to make the necessary changes to give students who are aging out of school this year the opportunity to return for the 2020-21 school year rather than lose their final year of education through no fault of their own. I assure you that there are thousands of parents and teachers who agree this is the right thing to do,” Santabarbara wrote.