Related Services

District 75's Office of Related and Contractual Services(ORCS) supports 60 D75 school organizations by contracting unserved related service mandates for Special Transportation Paraprofessionals, Counseling, Occupational, Physical, and Speech Services. Additionally, ORCS contracts all unserved Hearing, Vision, and Sign Language Interpreting Services for all NYC public school students.

ORCS collaborates with each school's Related Service Point person as well as Counseling, Hearing, Speech, and Vision supervisors to ensure that all students served mandates are appropriately captured as "encountered" in the Special Education Student Information System(SESIS). Through these collaborative efforts, the District has demonstrated yearly growth in compliance year after year.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services

Supports all K-12 DOE students who are (DHH) Deaf or Hard of Hearing in the academic setting by developing and strengthening their cognitive and communication skills. Providers holding a DHH license teach skills and strategies such as: speechreading, auditory training, compensatory language/listening skills, self-advocacy, and the use of HAT (Hearing Assistive Technology) with the support of an HES (Hearing Education Services) Educational Audiologist. Based on the student's preferred mode of communication, we offer Auditory Oral, ASL, and Total Communication options in both related service sessions and specialized classrooms.

Speech/Language Therapy

Helps students develop communication skills that include understanding language and expressing their thoughts and ideas. Goals may address:

Auditory processing (understanding and using the sounds of language)
Phonological skills (organizing speech sounds)
Comprehension (understanding language)
Articulation (forming clear sounds in speech)
Feeding and Swallowing
Social language skills (communication with peers)
Multiple modes of communication (using assistive technology)

NYC DOE Educational Vision Services

The New York City Department of Education’s Educational Vision Services (EVS) is the largest education program in the world, serving students who are blind and visually impaired from 3 to 21 years of age. This specialized organization employs over 150 staff members who serve approximately 900 students with vision services, orientation & mobility services, evaluations, and parent training. EVS instruction is guided by the Expanded Core Curriculum to support students with visual impairments to prepare for independence in school and the larger community.

Eligibility for Educational Vision Services: Best corrected visual acuity of 20/70 or less in the better eye and/or a field restriction of 60 degrees or less, or restrictions in acuity or field of vision that interfere with the learning process.

Provide EVS with a current eye report from an ophthalmologist or optometrist, and must include the visual diagnosis or condition, best corrected visual acuity in both eyes at near and far, and visual field information (periphery).

Students must have a Functional Vision Assessment (FVA) or Functional Vision Learning Media Assessment (FVLMA) conducted by a NY State licensed Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI). The TVI will make recommendations for services, mandates, and frequency.

Eligibility for Orientation & Mobility services:

Student must be eligible for vision services and have a severe visual condition that impacts on student’s ability to navigate independently in the school environment. Students must be evaluated by a certified Orientation & Mobility teacher and who will make recommendations for the service.

Eligibility for Mobility Paraprofessional:

Students must be receiving vision services and Orientation and Mobility services in order to be recommended for a mobility paraprofessional. The Orientation & Mobility teacher must make the recommendation for a mobility paraprofessional in order for that service to be entered into the IEP.

Email Gregory Santamoor, Director, Educational Vision Services at [email protected]

Professional Roles in Educational Vision Services:

Teachers of the Blind/Visually Impaired (TVI) provides educational vision instruction in Braille, assistive technology, and compensatory techniques. Assist the student to gain full and equal access to the student’s curricula that is IEP-driven. The TVI works closely with the student’s school, teachers, and related services providers to ensure the student gains the highest level of independence.

Orientation and Mobility Teacher provides instruction for students who are blind or have low vision to learn safe and purposeful travel. O&M teaching is designed to improve the student’s grasp of spatial and environmental concepts and use of information received by the senses for negotiating travel. We teach the use of low vision aids and/or the long cane to supplement visual travel skills for navigating the environment.

Orientation and Mobility Paraprofessional. This position, if necessary, is recommended for a student by the student’s O&M Teacher after a thorough evaluation of his or her mobility needs. The one-to-one mobility paraprofessional works closely with the student to assist him or her to be safe, independent, travel in the school, and to participate fully in the student’s classroom, all under the direction of the classroom, mobility, and vision teachers.

OSLIS - The Office of Sign Language Interpreters

The Office of Sign Language Interpreting Services (OSLIS) charge is to provide ASL-English interpreting services for families/caregivers, staff, students, and other stakeholders throughout the NYCPS. Our mission is to foster inclusivity and communication access for the ASL signing community in their schools and workplaces.

We promote cross-cultural communication among Deaf and hard-of-hearing members of the New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) community by providing ASL-English interpreting services throughout the system.

OSLIS provides service through two primary pathways:

Interpreting services for Deaf families and NYCPS employees (provided by OSLIS staff interpreters
Interpreting services for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students whose IEP’s mandate interpreting services (provided through agencies that contract with the NYCPS)

In addition to interpreting services, our office provides: screening and mentoring agency interpreters working in the classroom; American Sign Language (ASL) observations of Deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the system; outreach to parent coordinators, principals, schools, and other departments within NYCPS.

For Students

The student’s IEP should list their disability classification as “Deafness” (or some other broader classification, with clarification regarding hearing in the Present Levels of Performance section).
Evaluations of student ASL fluency (for whether an interpreter would be of use to them can be requested from OSLIS).
Once “Sign Language Interpreter” is listed under Recommended Special Education Programs/Services on a final draft of the IEP, the interpreter will be provided.
Classroom Interpreters are placed via sign language interpretation agencies.

For Staff and School Representatives

Office of School Health:

The D75 nurses use the nursing process to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate the health needs of the children. The medically related school Health Services can only be provided by a professional Registered Nurse in a school setting, and/or bus to and from school. They ensure that all children have access to and receive ongoing medical care, including any which should occur in schools. The nurse will provide health education to promote the adoption of healthy behaviors early in life. The nurses will advocate for the health and well-being of the children. They review the medical records to ensure the student's required follow-up is done and coordinate school health services with the multidisciplinary team for the students.

Under the leadership of the Office of School Health, a collaborative effort between the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene and New York City Public Schools- District 75 registered nurses play a critical role in supporting the medical and developmental needs of students with disabilities across over 310 programs citywide.

District 75 Nursing Leadership Team