By Dan Murphy
There are about 6,000 special education students in the Yonkers Public Schools, out of a total student population of 24,825, (24%).
We recently received a letter titled, The social-safety net fails special-needs families,
(https://yonkerstimes.com/the-social-safety-net-fails-special-needs-families/).
We then read the following set of Facebook posts from Jenn Herlihy, who served as Director of Special Education for the Yonkers Public School during the 2024-25 school year.
“In March 2025, as the Director of Special Education of the Yonkers Public Schools, I was unexpectedly placed on administrative leave and ultimately terminated in May of 2025.”
“It felt like a bad dream and that someone must have made a mistake. I was never written up. I was never reprimanded. I was never told I was doing a bad job. I was never given an improvement plan.
“My mistake was making complaints to Human Resources, the City of Yonkers Counsel assigned to the special education department, and my supervisor and for refusing to bury my head in the sand and lie to parents and the community.
“I was called a troublemaker…
Ruby Bridges’ parents were called troublemakers when they fought for their black daughter to go to an all-white school six years after the court made its ruling in Brown v Board of Education (1954).
Judy Heumann was considered a troublemaker when she led the famous Section 504 sit-in in San Francisco in 1977 to advocate for disability rights.
So let’s add Jenn Herlihy to the list of troublemakers. The big ol’ troublemaker who was standing up for the special education students in Yonkers Public Schools.”
And
“I am the former Director of Special Education for the YPS who was fired for speaking out about the district’s failure to educate and legally serve Special Education students in Yonkers.
“Get Ready! In one week, I will be launching a Podcast and Instagram account titled: No, IDEA. I will be posting my story, revealing all the violations and noncompliance issues; I will be sharing stories from parents who are waiting for an evaluation, placement, or annual review; and giving tips, free advice, and helping parents navigate the Special Education system! I will post the exact link asap!”
“If you are a parent of a Yonkers Public School student who is receiving Special Education or you are seeking a Special Education evaluation, please DM and leave me a message. I will be providing FREE Special Education advocacy services and advice, writes Herlihy.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61593056229210
We have received numerous complaints over the years from Yonkers residents about the services provided to YPS special education students, including delays in getting services.
Herlihy served briefly in her YPS role, from December 2024 to March 2025, but she brought experience from the Scarsdale and Blind Brook School Districts. Her experience is why she was hired by YPS.
What happened between Herlihy and her superiors, we do not know. Herlihy has filed a Federal Lawsuit against the school district, alleging her firing was retribution for her coming forward with allegations including,
“I became aware of what I believed to be serious, widespread, and systemic special education non-compliance within the district.
“I observed that numerous students were awaiting initial special education evaluations outside of the legally required timelines; that hundreds of
“Individualized Education Programs (“IEPs”) had not been finalized for months; that certain IEPs from the prior school year still had not been finalized; and that students were awaiting appropriate special education placements and/or mandated services.
“In addition to my concerns regarding what I perceived to be significant violations of state and federal special education requirements, including requirements relating to the provision of a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”) to students with disabilities, I was also concerned that, as Director of Special Education, I was being placed in a position where I was expected to oversee a department that was, in my view, severely out of compliance with applicable legal requirements.”
The comments below this story on Facebook include parents and educators.
“As someone who sits in on IEPs for kids in foster care and justice-involved, and a former educator, I’ve personally never had a problem. But then again, parents who don’t know, are uneducated themselves on the rules and policies, or simply not 100% involved in their child’s education – those will get pushed back. The number of children who need IEP’s in any many urban district is always more substantial than what the district can physically keep up with. Then couple that with the need for interpretation for 20-30% of them, yeah, it’s tough. People just aren’t aware of how hard it is to keep up with the demand. The district would have to 1. Hire 20-30 more Special Education staff 2. Have parents who are more responsive and complete the social history and sign the PWN in a timely fashion 3. Have a capacity and space for all the evaluations to occur while also running a full school day.
Let’s take MLK – the school that has one of the highest numbers of kids who need evaluations, the lowest performing elementary in the district, and one of the larger schools (Pk-8). They are overwhelmed and underfunded. Whereas WH School 29… NO ISSUE. One is on Locust Hill, one is on N Central Ave. Now look at Di Charro. No issue. While anyone can argue that it’s equal education, as it’s the same district, same district administration – I largely dispute that. As a parent, I watched firsthand that my son had more opportunities because I enrolled him at one of the high-performing schools. But I’ve watched parents struggle with outside circumstances that affect a large part of their lives and affect their ability and knowledge of how to stand up for their child’s rights. It will ALWAYS be like that when the district is overwhelmed with the needs and does not have the capacity to handle the large caseload of Special Ed students that has nearly quadrupled in 20 years.”
”YPS teachers are disgusted as well. Our hands are tied, and we cannot help our students even get a meeting in a timely manner. For example, a parent wrote a letter for her child to be evaluated in December of his Kindergarten year. This child was slotted for a meeting this month – he is now entering 2nd grade. Once the child has a meeting, it should be about 6 months before the IEP is finalized and he is placed. Hold principals accountable as well. They are deterring teachers from asking parents to advocate for their child by writing a letter for testing. They know the process is 2-3 years behind. Then they want to know why the child is so far behind. It’s a disgrace. Thank you for fighting for the children of Yonkers!”
The podcast is expected to start next week. Visit her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61593056229210