January 19, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK, NY – Today, the New York City Council unanimously passed Int. No. 660-A sponsored by Council Member Eric Dinowitz. The legislation will require the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD), in consultation with the Department of Education (DOE) and other relevant stakeholders, to develop and manage a program to assist students with disabilities who are graduating high school to obtain accommodations at college and ease their transition to higher education.

The legislation calls for the development and implementation of a system to facilitate the electronic sharing of information about these students’ special education services between the DOE and institutions of higher education, after obtaining necessary consents. Further, the legislation calls for the availability of student advocates to assist these graduating high school students.

“This legislation will be transformative for students with disabilities, ensuring that they have the continuum of services necessary to succeed,” says Council Member Eric Dinowitz, Chair of the Committee on Higher Education. “The transition to college can be challenging for many students, but it is often our students with disabilities who have the steepest hurdles to overcome. With this historic legislation, the second to ever pass out of the City Council’s Committee on Higher Education, there is now a mandate to ensure that our students with disabilities have a government that is working for them to get the support they need on day one of their college experience. 

I want to thank my colleagues on the Higher Education Committee for their support in moving this legislation forward. I am confident that it will improve success rates for students with disabilities, and provide them with the dignity and support that they deserve.”

“I welcome the legislation introduced by Council Member Eric Dinowitz, as our city has a moral obligation to accommodate the needs of every New Yorker, including our students with disabilities in higher education,” said Council Member Linda Lee, Chair of the Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities, and Addictions. “It is the dream of any parent to have their children attend institutions that allow them to receive the best education possible to help them reach their goals. Individualized Education Programs are federally mandated in our city, but these programs effectively end when students graduate high school, leaving them without the essential lifeline of support that assists in continuing their education. With this legislation, our city is ensuring that all New Yorkers have access to the educational resources that will give them every opportunity to succeed.”

“Students with disabilities often face obstacles in getting the supports they need in college, and even the strongest self-advocates can struggle to figure out how to get accommodations,” said Juliet Eisenstein, senior staff attorney on the Postsecondary Readiness Project at Advocates for Children of New York. “We are encouraged that Council Member Dinowitz’s bill will help make this process more transparent and look forward to working together to ensure all students with disabilities have the support they need to thrive in college and beyond.”