Fair Hearing Guide
July 18, 2025Legal Services of Long Island’s Education and Disability Rights Project (EDRP) protects the educational rights of students with disabilities who are between the ages of 3 and 21. We strive to ensure that these students receive a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) through the provision of programs and services required by state and federal law. We also assist students with school-related challenges pertaining to homelessness, residency in the school district or bullying. In addition, the EDRP helps adults with developmental disabilities to secure eligibility and services through the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).
An audit released on December 5, 2024, by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli noted that “preschool students in need of special education are not always getting the help they need or are getting services late” and that “many local school districts maintain waitlist for services because there are not enough providers.” The Comptroller further stated that “providing timely, quality early education services to preschool children with special needs can make a world of difference in their development and delays can have long term consequences for their academic futures.”
The EDRP is acutely aware of the educational implications that these widespread provider shortages have had on local preschool children with special needs, particularly those with a developmental disability such as Autism.
In fact, since the Spring of 2023, the Education and Disability Rights Project (EDRP) has been contacted by many parents and local pediatricians, asking us to assist in securing special education services for preschool age children (ages 3-5). Invariably, these children had already been classified by their local school districts as “a child with a disability” and the district’s Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) had developed an Individualized Education Program (IEP), specifying a preschool program and related services. Almost all of these young students had been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and /or Intellectual Disability. Often these students had poor verbal abilities or were non-verbal, and also needed Occupational and/or Physical Therapy. IEP mandates notwithstanding, the respective school districts had failed to place these students in appropriate preschool programs and often failed to provide related services as well.
The EDRP attorneys worked with families of these young students, first referring them to psychologists to evaluate their needs and make recommendations for services. Many Due Process Complaints and other legal documents were filed, and the majority of students who needed our assistance have now been placed in a school program with appropriate services for the 2024-2025 school year and are also receiving compensatory services to make up for many missed hours of instruction and related services.
Read more about preschool case recently handled by the EDRP.
