Emma Albert, 14, has never entered her school through the front door.  

The eighth grader has a vascular malformation on her left leg, which means that since the first grade she used a wheelchair though she could switch to crutches for short distances. And it means that she could access only the areas of her school that were wheelchair accessible. So, each morning she entered The Manhattan School for Children through a side entrance. 

When it came time to apply to high school, she lamented that her search was driven more by accessibility than school offerings. 

"They don’t really care about, 'What are your interests outside of school?' It’s like, as long as it’s accessible, it’s a good school for you," she said.

Emma and other students spoke at a recent panel on school accessibility, organized by the ARISE Coalition and Parents for Inclusive Education. 

"Some schools are completely accessible; most are not," said Abey Weitzman, 13, who uses a wheelchair full-time. "It is a shame that in a city that houses one of the largest financial systems in the world, I can't get in the school across the street from my house."

Fully accessible school buildings are scarce in New York City. About 17 percent of schools (less than 6 percent of school buildings) are fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as noted in a scathing report by the U.S. Justice Department in December 2015. These are schools that are accessible to someone in a wheelchair, with ramps, elevators and adequately-sized bathroom stalls. Doors do not require too much force to open; there is adequate signage; and office counters are not too high.

Starting in the fall, Emma will attend The Beacon School where she will be able to enter the front door each day, along with everyone else. 

"I really wanted to go to a fully accessible school so I could experience everything," she said.

Many other schools are considered "partially accessible," meaning students could perhaps get to their main classes but not access the library, gym or auditorium. 

Accessibility issues do not just limit students' access, but also impact school staff and parents who may have physical disabilities, along with members of the general public who rely on schools as polling sites and emergency shelters.

New York City education officials said they were working to improve school accessibility, taking significant steps in the past year alone, said Michael Aciman, an education department spokesman.

"We’ve made substantial investments to upgrade facilities, hire new staff and increase information around accessibility and we continue to engage families and communities on this critical work," said Aciman in a statement.

Since 2016, the city hired six "accessibility coordinators," who manage accessibility projects. It allocated $60 million for bathroom renovations, and another $100 million in the capital plan for building upgrades in order to make schools either fully accessible or nearly so, given some structural limitations with old buildings. Advocates, however, pointed out that the funding covered improvements at only 17 schools over five years. 

The city last week launched a building survey to gather specific information on the accessibility of all middle and high schools, including room by room accessibility. Aciman said the city aimed to make this detailed information available to students applying to middle school and high school next year.

To hear from more students on this issue, click the audio player.