Schools, Parents Hurting Without Reimbursements
We recently lost a long-treasured and appreciated colleague at the DOE implementations unit, who has picked up sticks and joined OATH as a hearing officer. We wish him all the best.
In his absence, implementations have slowed to a crawl.
As a parent attorney, I often have to be the bearer of bad news when it becomes time to collect. It's not enough just to win your hearing, there is still the hurdle of getting it implemented.
For many parents, this delay may seem like just a continuation of the status quo. There is a feeling that, when the DOE can't beat us on the merits, we instead get delayed payments. Meanwhile, reimbursements have been so late that schools face the prospect of extending credit to parents.
After conferring with colleagues at the DOE, other parent attorneys, hearing officers, and related service agencies, these delays seem to be a universal experience and shared frustration.
We have reached out to a number of high-ranking personnel at the DOE and elsewhere to see what we can do to ameliorate this intolerable lag time. We encourage our readers to reach out to us and remind us of your concerns and pressures. We are certainly sensitive to the difficulties — and want to get everybody paid as quickly as humanly possible.
Marc Gottlieb
Partner
195 Montague Street
14th Floor
Brooklyn Heights, NY, 11201
Marc@GottliebFirm.com
(646) 820-8506