Federal Investigation Finds Department of Education Fails to Provide Access to Students with Disabilities

A federal investigation finds most city elementary schools are violating the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara says 83% of the city's public elementary schools are not fully accessible to children with disabilities.

Six school districts do not have even one school that is fully accessible. Those six districts serve more than 50 thousand students.

How can it be, 25 yrs after the ADA passed, 83% of NYC elem schools are NOT fully accessible to kids w/disabilities? https://t.co/HqWNiCd14o

— US Attorney Bharara (@PreetBharara) December 21, 2015

In a statement Bharara said, "Children with disabilities and their families are being denied the right to equal access to a public school education.

"We have asked the City for a response, including an outline and timeline of corrective actions that will remedy this unacceptable state of affairs."

The ADA became law 1990 with the goal of ending discrimination against people with disabilities.

The U.S. Attorney's has asked the city for a plan to make the schools compliant.