special needs
Mom sues DOE after disabled daughter 'was left on bus for hours'
A Queens mom claims her developmentally disabled daughter was left behind on a school bus for three hours. Maria Magdalena Navarrete put her wheelchair-bound child, 13, on the bus on...
Education department has failed special needs kids: judge
The city is systematically failing its most medically fragile kids, a judge said Wednesday in blasting the Department of Education. Special needs children are forced to stay home for much...
Schools once refused disabled kids — so this mom started a revolution
When Ann Greenberg’s 5-month-old, Jerry, started having seizures in 1944, she took him to the hospital — and the doctor’s words shocked her to the core. “His brain has been...
Inside the life-changing sports camp for kids with disabilities
At the age of 2, Mike Simmel was diagnosed with epilepsy. Raised in New Jersey, he spent many of his younger years wearing a helmet to protect him from injury,...
Students with special needs win prom king and queen by a landslide
Two students with special needs were crowned prom king and queen at East Islip High School on Long Island. Robbie Phillips, who has autism, and Delaney Conlon, who has Down...
Special needs teacher fired over fundraising efforts sues city
When it comes to the Department of Education, raising money for disabled students can get you fired faster than manhandling them. A Staten Island teacher claims she was abruptly canned...
Teacher taped special needs student's mouth shut: suit
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A teacher, her supervisor and a Michigan school district are named in a federal lawsuit alleging abuse that included taping shut the mouth of a 26-year-old...
Special needs teacher arrested for flipping desk with student in it
A teacher faces charges after she reportedly flipped a desk occupied by a special needs student who refused to get up from the seat. Donna Dixon, 56, was arrested Monday...
Rabbi gets prison for stealing millions from special needs kids
A Queens rabbi who admitted to stealing $5 million from special needs students has been sentenced to up to three years in prison. Rabbi Samuel Hiller -- the former head...
Couple busted for keeping special-needs woman in shed as sex slave
A Michigan couple was busted for allegedly holding a special-needs woman captive in a shed and pimping her out for sex, according to authorities. Michael Welch and Misty George are...
Girl suffers from rare disorder that makes her allergic to weather
A nine-year-old schoolgirl has been left dreading Britain's cycle of heatwaves and rain showers this summer -- because she's allergic to the weather. Bethany Bell was born with a rare...
Camp gives kids with disabilities the chance to learn to surf
Disabled kids are catching waves on Long Island and standing on their own two feet — or hands. Isaiah Bird, 9, who was born without legs, is one of seven...
Parents watch nurse beating special needs son on nanny cam
A California mom was faced with every parent's worst nightmare when she tuned into her nanny cam app. To her horror, Dyanna Ko saw the family's nurse beating her 2-year-old...
Special needs teacher arrested for having sex with 15-year-old student
A former special needs teacher has been busted for having sex with a 15-year-old student, according to reports. The boy was a student at School at Northeast in Schenectady, a...
Special needs student sexually assaulted on school bus: lawsuit
A special needs girl in New Jersey was sexually assaulted on a school bus by another student -- who filmed the entire ordeal, her family charged in a recent lawsuit....
Parents sue city for closing charter school geared toward special-needs kids
Parents from a Harlem charter school that caters to special-needs kids are suing the city to keep it from closing. The group, led by plaintiff Latya Downs, says the Education...
Rabbi admits to stealing millions from special-needs school
A Queens rabbi has pleaded guilty to embezzling $5 million from his taxpayer-funded Queens preschool -- money intended for Orthodox Jewish special-needs students ages 3 to 5. Rabbi Samuel Hiller,...
Driver accused of having sex as autistic student died on hot bus
A Californa bus driver was having sex with a co-worker as an autistic student was dying in a sweltering bus, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the teen's...
Teens accused of forcing special-needs student to perform sex act
Two teenagers allegedly forced a special-needs student to perform sex on them after luring her into the bathroom of a Brooklyn public school, officials said. The students led a 17-year-old...
This autistic swim team proved everyone wrong
When Mike McQuay Jr., an 18-year-old with autism, was growing up, the place he felt most safe and calm was in his parents’ backyard pool. “We’d take him to the...