#NYC needs to offer in-person summer classes for special-ed kids

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NYC Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza
Paul Martinka

Lots of parents of special-education and special-needs kids don’t think remote learning is working for their children and are pushing for in-person summer-school classes.

Chancellor Richard Carranza’s first answer, when Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-SI) pushed it: They “want to ­experiment with our most vulnerable students . . . Hmmm.”

As City Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) noted, that “diminished and mocked the concerns of parents” who see their kids losing ground.

Carranza relented, tweeting that the Department of Education will “discuss” the matter; it’s surveying parents about it, too.

But the city Health Department has reportedly told some providers of early intervention and Pre-K services for special ed, autistic children and children with disabilities that it won’t allow in-person classes.

City Hall tells us: “The health and safety of our students comes first. No decision has been made yet.”

Reality check: Young children are known to be extremely low-risk for getting or transmitting the bug, and most of these classes are small enough (six to eight kids) that modest precautions should be enough.

For the sake of these most vulnerable children, Carranza and Mayor Bill de Blasio need to face down the doubters and ensure these in-person classes start in July.