What Is “Satisfactory Documentation”?
The Department of Education in New York City has begun issuing demands for “satisfactory documentation” that the student continues to receive special educational methodologies during the private school closures. Absent that documentation, the DOE is going to treat the whole time that private schools are closed as unexcused absences.
On its face, that is a reasonable condition; I can concede that private schools shouldn't collect tuition for days where a child is sitting at home, doing nothing. Of course, with the DOE, nothing is ever that simple.
First off, the DOE doesn't really know what that documentation should be. There are so many schools with different kinds of kids, each with its own COVID response, that the DOE has adopted the vaguest possible language defining satisfactory documentation. This is typical bureaucratic incompetence, and would be troublesome enough on its own.
Worse yet, however, the DOE is also insisting that whether this documentation is "satisfactory" will be determined solely by its personnel, working at their own pace, with no set deadlines, and answerable to nobody. In one of my cases, the DOE confirmed its satisfaction and then reneged. In another, they have refused to even review our documents, claiming that they are currently “unable” to do so.
This puts parents in a position where they are asked to sign a stipulation that says "We will eventually provide satisfactory documentation," not "We have provided..." You don’t need a crystal ball to see what will happen next. Just when there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, the DOE is free to say, "Oh, our bad, we just looked at your documentation, and it's actually not satisfactory."
From there, they can just keep rejecting and rejecting your documentation until you realize it's been years and you're never getting your money.
In all my cases that have gone to hearing since the pandemic began, none have involved any discussion of school closures. No hearing officers have requested “satisfactory documentation,” or asked my school witnesses about what's going on during the period of school closure. So far, everything is the same as it was in previous years.
For those of you who are interested in avoiding this “satisfactory documentation” bottleneck, not to worry — there’s never been a better time to litigate. The DOE has not produced a single witness in any of my hearings since the pandemic began. For those of you who still want to pursue settlement, however, there’s still hope. I have begun insisting that the DOE’s office of legal services review our documentation up front and acknowledge its satisfaction before finalizing our stipulations. So far, it’s been going well; if other firms do the same, we can hopefully establish yet another “new normal.”
This idea of providing the DOE with “satisfactory documentation,” may seem like a very simple thing — but as I wrote in a previous article, that is a lot easier said than done. Whenever there are gaps between regulations and reality, having an attorney on your side greatly increases your chance of getting heard at the DOE. It shouldn’t be that way — but when it comes to your kid’s future, you have to contend with the present obstacles. The attorneys at Gottlieb & Gottlieb are here to help you through it. Contact us here.
Marc Gottlieb
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Marc@GottliebFirm.com
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