10.10.2021 | Truthout | Director of Litigation at Advocates for Children Rebecca Shore calls the situation frustrating and notes that, “Students and parents typically know that they are entitled to a free and appropriate public education. But what that means is not always made clear by the schools.”

What’s more, she emphasizes that these issues predate COVID — by decades.

In fact, Advocates for Children, a New York City nonprofit that works to ensure that the city’s 1.1 million students — 200,000 of whom have a disability — receive a high-quality education, is suing the city on behalf of children whose documented need for specialized services went unmet during the school system’s COVID-19 shutdown. They are hoping to win compensatory services — essentially make-up sessions of physical, occupational and speech therapy, as well as other specialized services that were not provided during the remote learning period. Li atik