On July 8, 2021 Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter discussed the Academic Recovery Plan on the NYC Department of Education (DOE) website. Acknowledging that disabled students had been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, the DOE plan included the following bullet points:
- We will launch afterschool and Saturday programs for students with IEPs to receive additional instruction and related services.
- We will add 800 Special Education Pre-K seats and expand Committees on Preschool Special Education to review more IEP requests.
- We will provide eligible students ages 21+ with either continued instruction toward their diploma or other credential, or consultation about plans for college and career readiness.
- We will also continue to provide family workshops and information sessions through our Beyond Access Series, which supports families of students with disabilities by providing sessions on topics related to special education.
—Mara Mills