A lesson in inequity: The vast majority of New York City schools are inaccessible to children with disabilities
10.11.2018 | New York Daily News | A new report by Advocates for Children of New York rattles off the depressing numbers: Just 18.4% of schools in the five boroughs are fully accessible to all, with necessary ramps and elevators. Three of the city’s 32 community school districts have not a single accessible elementary school, requiring boys and girls with serious physical challenges to take long trips to be taught the basics far from their friends and neighbors. Even in District 75, the cluster of schools and programs for kids with the most severe disabilities, fewer than a third of school buildings are fully accessible. An inaccessible school is an unusable school. Young people must be able to go to the bathroom, to enter and exit the cafeteria. Their parents, if mobility-impaired themselves, must be able to attend a teacher-parent conference or performance. Read editorial