Parents and advocates say special-education services have gaps as families report missed home instruction

Several parents and advocates told the board they have not received promised special-education or home-instruction services for months or years, and they urged the district to provide immediate remedies.

Kevin Vasquez said his son, approved for home instruction because of a neuromuscular condition, had been approved since at least November but received only five days of instruction this school year. "My son has 93 absences on his report card right now," Vasquez said, and he warned he would file a complaint with the New York State Education Department if the district did not act promptly.

Danielle Diamond said her terminally ill child has not had consistent services since 2022 and that repeated messages and emails to administrators had not resulted in assignments of providers. Both parents asked for immediate action to secure qualified instructors, consistent schedules and compensatory services for missed months.

District leaders acknowledged gaps and said they are recruiting aggressively: Ms. Holder reported expanded outreach to local colleges, Saturday and evening job fairs, and hiring around 15 aides this year while noting contractual requirements can limit immediate placements. The administration committed to checking specific home-instruction cases and to follow up with the families "this week," according to the transcript.

Speakers and board members urged stronger capacity-building in the special-education department, noting needs for more CPSE/CPSE chairs, supervisors, speech pathologists and psychologists; several public commenters emphasized that inability to fill positions does not mean the positions are unnecessary.

The district said it will investigate the named cases and provide follow-up while continuing ongoing recruitment and internal reassignments.