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How To Make P311 Work For Your Child

11/11/2019

Eventually, almost all parents of NYC special needs kids are stymied by a branch of DOE not doing what they are supposed to do. We have all been there, and the range of roadblocks is vast and variegated:

DOE claiming that they do not provide integrated co-teaching at a specific school
DOE claiming that they are too backed up to convene an IEP meeting in the near future
DOE not implementing an IEP student’s DOE-provided MacBook
DOE refusing to evaluate in all (or any) areas of suspected disability
DOE not providing related services, for example speech, occupational therapy, counseling, etc.

The good news is that DOE does have a hotline and I am here to help you navigate it!
Here are my SIX STEPS to P311:

Call P311 at 718-935-2007
Have your child’s basic information ready, including their NYC DOE ID# (the 9-digit OSIS #)
Explain your complaint politely but firmly: “I am calling because I can’t seem to even schedule an IEP meeting in the next 4 months. Can you help?”
After they reply, make sure you ask for the ticket number and write it down (it’s like getting a receipt- SAVE THIS NUMBER)
Then immediately email specialeducation@schools.nyc.gov and put the ticket number in the subject line along with the name of your child and his OSIS # [RE: Mary Jones, OSIS# 333444555, P311 Ticket# 397865] and BRIEFLY summarize the P311 call as in “I just called P311 explaining that I have been unable to get an IEP meeting scheduled in a timely way and they said they would look into it. I hope you can help.”
Repeat this every week, until your complaint is resolved.

While P311 will not resolve every complaint, I have been amazed at the speed and complexity of the complaints that they have been able to resolve. It’s a terrific resource for parents, so do follow the above recipe use it effectively as one more arrow in the quiver of being an IEP parent/warrior for your child!

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Private Neuropsycholgical Evaluations Funded By DOE

11/3/2019

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I have seen this story play out dozens of times: the moment when NYC DOE parents of special needs kids realize that their child requires a neuropsychological evaluation. The parent makes a few calls and then has a panic attack as the average NYC neuropsychological evaluation ranges from $5000 to $10,000. When as a single mom I realized that the price tag for neuropsychological evaluations (with the clinician of my choice) for all three of my special needs sons was going to top $19,500, which I did not have and would never have, I knew that I had to figure out another way.
The big secret is that the DOE does, in fact, fund neuropsychological evaluations. It’s actually their responsibility to fund them. According to special education law, IDEA refers to District funded evaluations as Individual Educational Evaluations or IEEs. There are many roads to a funded neuropsychological evaluation. For this post, we’ll take the simplest road.

For public school students, email or fax your child’s school principal (not the assistant principal, a teacher or the person that you feel most comfortable with at the school) and cc the school's DOE school psychologist (if you know who that is).

For private school or charter school settings, email or fax your child’s CPSE/CSE Chairperson. A list of CPSE/CSE Chairs with their pertinent information is here.
In the email or fax include your child’s name and their student ID#, DOB and school, explain your reasoning that your child requires a neuropsychological evaluation. You might say, “My child is failing English or math”, “my child has a deep aversion to reading or doing homework”, and so forth. PUT IT IN WRITING and SAVE THE PRINTED EMAILS OR FAX RECEIPT IN A BINDER. With the DOE, always, always keep a paper trail. That running collection of documented evidence is utterly critical if it comes to a legal confrontation. If it is not in writing, with the DOE as with most bureaucracies, then it never happened.

The DOE should then ask for your written consent to evaluate. You must email or fax that signed consent (in writing). From that moment the DOE has 60 days to complete the evaluation. DOE should then either evaluate first OR issue an AA-2 voucher.
If the DOE decides to evaluate first, you must let them. If after DOE evaluates and you believe that a) the DOE psychoeducational evaluation is not comprehensive or b) you have another valid reason to disagree with DOE’s evaluation, you must say so in writing by email or fax. While the DOE does have the right to ask you what your reason is for disagreeing with their evaluation, you should know that the law (IDEA) does not obligate the parent to give a reason. When the DOE has asked me for my reasoning, I declined NICELY and reminded the DOE that was my legal prerogative (because I didn’t want to get into an argument with them or give them the option to go back and fix their clearly insufficient evaluation).
DOE has only two choices at this point. They must issue the AA-2 voucher for a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation with the provider you have chosen or they can take you to an impartial hearing to defend their evaluation. Usually, the voucher will be issued as it is cheaper and easier for the DOE to do so than to fight it legally as Impartial Hearings reportedly cost them $50K each. If the DOE does decide to defend their evaluation, however, and you don’t have an attorney, please call Advocates For Children or IncludeNYC for assistance as having an attorney or trained advocate is very helpful indeed at these hearings.
Once you have the AA-2 voucher, call and make an appointment with a clinician that accepts the DOE voucher. Confirm with the clinician that they will accept the voucher. You can find evaluators that accept vouchers here, scroll down to find the neuropsychologists.

As with any clinician, there are good ones and not -so- good ones. Do your research. The law allows for only one IEE per year so it’s serious you do it once and WELL. I have seen evaluations that are not thorough or even that are written in such a way as to favor the DOE over the child's needs. Facebook has several groups such as Brooklyn Special Kids, Manhattan Special Kids and Queens Special kids where you can search evaluators’ names and read about other parents’ experiences. You may also post and ask if anyone has any opinions on your chosen provider.

If a parent wishes to pursue a clinician that does not accept an AA-2 voucher or wants to seek reimbursement for their out-of-pocket neuropsychological evaluation, that is possible. It is a complicated process so those parents should definitely hire an attorney or an advocate to guide them. (The fees, in any case, will be a fraction of what a NYC neuropsychological evaluation will cost!)

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How To Make P311 Work For Your Child

Private Neuropsycholgical Evaluations Funded By DOE

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