Chalkbeat's journalism is made possible by our sponsors.
Interested in becoming one? Reach out here.

Hi,

I’m Sammy Caiola, gun violence reporter for Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

Today we’re looking at Chalkbeat New York, where reporters are covering Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s approach to special education.

On Tuesday, the mayor announced that the city will start offering pre-schoolers five popular programs that already serve K-12 students with autism and other disabilities. It’s part of a $67.5 million investment included in the city budget.

The plan also emphasizes getting more students with disabilities into classrooms with their typically developing peers.

In May, my colleague Rebecca Redelmeier wrote about the School District of Philadelphia’s decision to phase out a special education program in an effort to get more of these students into general education classrooms. Redelmeier’s reporting shows there’s some pushback on that idea.

Read about New York’s new plan here.

Event alert: If you want to come say hi to me this weekend, I’ll be at the Philly Youth Music Fest at Spruce Harbor Park, where I will be tabling for Chalkbeat from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. It’ll be a great chance to catch the local kids doin’ their thing.

And as always, reach us with questions and story ideas at [email protected].

Local education coverage is disappearing. Chalkbeat helps families and educators understand what’s changing. We can’t do it without you.

Support Chalkbeat