哥伦比亚广播公司新闻 | Advocacy groups say New York City’s Department of Education is failing students with special needs.

Some parents head to court over it, but as CBS News New York’s Doug Williams reports, it doesn’t always end with a solution.

When the system fails to do so, parents may file for an impartial hearing, which can result in a court order giving the DOE 35 days to right the wrong.

But according to the organization Advocates for Children, the DOE adheres to the court order less than 10% of the time.

“It has guaranteed that it will provide these services to the students to both the state and the federal government, and it simply does not and cannot do so,” said Jesse Cole Cutler, a lawyer who estimates he’s represented 3,000 families in these hearings.

In addition to services like speech and occupational therapy, the DOE is sometimes mandated to pay for tuition. When a public school can’t provide special ed programs that a student needs, it’s on the system to pay for a private school that can.

Rebecca Shore, director of litigation for Advocates for Children, says when the DOE doesn’t pay for private school, “The parent is essentially floating a loan for the DOE.”

“We’ve had parents talk about that they’ve taken out a mortgage, that they’ve extended their credit,” she added.