The $17 billion capital plan for New York City public schools that officials say is "the largest ever" would significantly increase accessibility in a system where many students with physical disabilities are barred entry.
The funds for the years 2020-2024 would be used to reduce overcrowding and end the use of trailers for classroom instruction, issues that have long been concerns raised by families and staff alike. But the most significant aspect would be the $750 million set aside to make one-third of schools accessible by the end of fiscal 2024. Currently, only 20 percent are accessible according to a report from Advocates for Children, and only $178 million was allocated for accessibility in the current capital plan.
One school district, District 16, which spans Bed-Stuy in central Brooklyn, has no accessible schools.
Karin Goldmark, the school system’s Deputy Chancellor of School Planning and Development, says that construction work would make schools accessible to students with mobility, vision and hearing impairments.
Increased funding for accessibility is a step toward affording students with physical disabilities the same opportunities as their able-bodied peers, advocates say.
"In a city that prides itself on giving students choice, the choices for kids with physical disabilities are much more limited that can't get into every building and if they can get in, they can't get around,” said Maggie Moroff, the Special Education Policy Coordinator at Advocates for Children.
Yet some schools will not find their accessiblity increasing by much, if at all.
“We have many buildings in New York City that are over 100 years old that were constructed before anyone had this kind of awareness, and some of those schools are not practicable to make accessible,” said the education department's Goldmark.
Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza announced the new capital plan at P.S. 11 in Woodside, Queens, a school that was demolished and rebuilt and is now accessible. Carranza said such extensive construction isn't always possible in a city which he described as “placement challenged,” but said the capital plan seeks to address issues of overcrowding.
The plan would create 38,000 new seats, to meet an earlier promise by the de Blasio administration to accommodate more students while completely eliminating the system’s reliance on trailers as teaching spaces.
The City Council and the mayor will need to approve the plan for it to go into effect.