External Monitor Finds NYC Department of Education Making Progress, but Still Out of Compliance with Eleven Key Benchmarks of Settlement Protecting Rights of K-12 Students with Diabetes
In November 2018, DRA and Alan L. Yatvin of Weir LLP filed M.F. et al., v. New York City Department of Education et al., a class action lawsuit on behalf of the American Diabetes Association (Association) and three individual students with diabetes, alleging that the New York City Department of Education (DOE) and the New York City Department of Health (DOH) systemically failed to ensure that students with diabetes could attend school safely and have access to the same educational opportunities as their peers.
In April 2023, a federal court granted final approval to this class action settlement requiring under which DOE and DOH promised to implement new policies, practices, and procedures related to: 1) planning to determine the needs of students with diabetes and how Defendants will meet those needs (called a “Section 504 Plan”); 2) providing care such that students with diabetes are not excluded or segregated from their classmates; and 3) training for staff and contractors (nurses, paraprofessionals, administrators, bus drivers and attendants, and teachers and other staff) and the provision of services during the school day and in afterschool activities. The settlement also provided for a multi-year monitoring period, during with the DOE and DOH would provide semi-annual data on its compliance with the terms of the settlement, which would then be reviewed and reported on by an External Monitor. Read the settlement agreement and learn more about the case.
Compliance Report
On May 27, 2026, the External Monitor finalized his first Compliance Report evaluating DOE’s compliance with the settlement agreement for the period of September 1, 2025 to January 1, 2026. The Monitor found that the DOE was noncompliant with eleven different compliance metrics. Learn more about the Monitor’s Compliance Report.
This is a summary of the External Monitor’s key findings.
Progress Highlights
- DOE met or exceeded the benchmarks for conducting diabetes training for DOE and DOH Staff Nurses —including Initial training, annual Refresher training, Additional Training, and Student-Specific Training.
- DOE improved data tracking across the school system by moving to a centralized electronic system for recording accommodations to keep students with diabetes safe and flourishing in school.
- DOE improved compliance with the Agreement’s requirements to hold timely meetings and finalize Section 504 Plans for New Students with diabetes.
Deficiencies in Compliance
The Monitor found that while the DOE and DOH are making specific, systemic improvements that will benefit students with diabetes, the pace of improvements is not keeping up with many of the Agreement’s requirements. The Monitor found the DOE was noncompliant with the Agreement’s requirements that DOE:
- Hold meetings and finalize Section 504 Plans before the end of the prior school year for Returning Students, so that those students with diabetes have an updated plan in place when they return to school at the end of the summer;
- Hold pre-meetings for New Students who required a meeting between submitting their doctors orders for care and accommodations at school (DMAF) and finalizing a Section 504 Plan; and
- Conduct timely diabetes care-related trainings for bus drivers and attendants, paraprofessionals assigned to assist younger students with diabetes, school staff who are designated as diabetes training recipients, and new school based administrators who coordinate 504 planning.
DOE also reported material discrepancies and inconsistencies between the number of submitted doctor’s orders and the much lower number of students with Section 504 Plans. Per the External Monitor, these discrepancies raise concerns about DOE’s outreach and follow-through for students with diabetes who do not have Section 504 plans.
Priority Recommendations
At the Monitor’s request, DOE will submit targeted corrective Action Plans within 30 days for addressing DOE’s noncompliance in the following categories: returning-student timeliness, the new-student pre-meeting requirement, and training benchmarks that were not met. The corrective Action Plans should include timelines and progress markers. The Monitor also recommended that DOE should identify the root causes of delays and implement process changes that shift training and planning earlier to meet the settlement agreement’s deadlines, rather than completing requirements after deadlines have passed.