Roadmap · where we are and what comes next
Where we are now, what happens next, and what parents can still do.
This page explains the path from the RFP to implementation: who has authority at each stage, what can still change, what evidence matters now, and where families should go next.
Current phase
We finished the vendor appeal/protest phase. We are now in the Comptroller registration-review phase.
This is the moment to build the public record: scoring, school rankings, protest decisions, School Partnership Agreements, disability-access plans, provider-diversity rationale, and transition-readiness documents.
RFP released
This stage created the official rules providers had to follow when applying.
✅ Complete
DYCD issued the COMPASS/SONYC RFP, providers applied through PASSPort, Round 2 was issued, and final proposals were submitted.
DYCD
DYCD controlled the solicitation, addenda, eligibility rules, proposal questions, and application structure.
Understand the rules
Families began reviewing the application process, required documents, scoring categories, and Round 2 changes.
❌ No — this stage is over. But its records matter.
The RFP and application records show what DYCD was supposed to evaluate and what documents should exist in the administrative record.
Awards announced
This is when schools learned which providers DYCD selected for the next contract cycle.
✅ Complete
Awards were announced, schools learned provider assignments, and families discovered provider changes.
DYCD
DYCD made the award decisions, using scoring, viability thresholds, NYCPS advisory rankings, and its own award discretion.
Public record building
Parents organized, CECs passed resolutions, reporters covered the issue, providers filed protests, and elected officials began asking questions.
❌ No — awards were announced. But the award record can still be challenged.
The key question now is whether the award decisions are supported by scoring records, school rankings, override rationales, protest determinations, and implementation documents.
Vendor appeals / protests
Providers had an opportunity to protest agency decisions. This stage is largely complete.
✅ Complete / mostly complete
Vendors filed protests or appeals, DYCD reviewed them, and final agency determinations were issued or are expected before registration.
DYCD
DYCD controls protest decisions. The Comptroller does not decide vendor protests, but he can review whether DYCD followed protest rules before registration.
Preserve protest issues
The goal was to make sure protest records, public objections, CEC resolutions, and school-specific concerns were not ignored.
Demand protest records
Ask whether DYCD issued written protest determinations and whether those determinations are included in the registration package.
🟡 Mostly over — but protest compliance still matters.
If DYCD mishandled protests, ignored required timelines, failed to issue written reasons, or omitted protest records from the contract file, that becomes a registration-review issue.
Comptroller registration review
This is the current stage. It is the strongest immediate leverage point before disputed contracts move forward.
🟡 Current
After DYCD finishes agency determinations, contract packages go to the Comptroller for registration review.
NYC Comptroller
The Comptroller reviews whether procurement rules were followed, funds exist, vendors are eligible, corruption concerns are addressed, and vendor protest rules were followed.
Build the record now
Families are asking the Comptroller to require the complete school-by-school administrative record before any disputed contract is registered.
| Evidence needed now | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Scoring sheets and evaluator notes | To reconstruct why one provider won and another lost. |
| NYCPS advisor rankings | To see whether school input was followed or overridden. |
| Vendor protest determinations | To confirm DYCD followed protest rules. |
| School Partnership Agreements | To confirm the awarded provider can actually partner with the school. |
| Disability-access and crisis plans | To protect students with IEPs/504s and disabled parents before implementation. |
| Provider-diversity and capacity analysis | To see whether unscored discretion changed the outcome. |
✅ Yes — this is where parents can still influence the record before registration.
The Comptroller may not choose providers based on parent preference, but he can review whether the registration package is complete and whether DYCD followed the required procurement rules.
Registration decision
Registration is a formal checkpoint. The contract cannot fully move forward as a City contract until it is registered.
⚪ Upcoming
Disputed contract packages may be pending, submitted, returned, questioned, or registered depending on the school/provider package.
NYC Comptroller
The Comptroller’s registration role is limited, but important: review the contract package and confirm required procurement and financial conditions.
Register, return, or question
A package may be registered, returned as incomplete or deficient, or held while questions are answered.
Track contract status
Ask: Has the package been submitted? Is it complete? Was it registered? Was it returned? What records were included?
✅ Registered
The contract moves forward and the fight shifts to implementation, compliance, disability access, and oversight.
⬅ Returned
DYCD must correct, complete, or explain the package before registration can proceed.
❓ Questions
The Comptroller may seek clarification or additional records before deciding whether to register.
🟡 Sometimes — it depends on the defect.
If the problem is missing documentation, unresolved protest issues, vendor eligibility, insurance, School Partnership Agreements, or an incomplete file, registration review may force DYCD to correct the record.
Transition and implementation
If contracts register, the fight changes. It becomes about whether the incoming provider actually delivers what was promised and protects children during the transition.
⚪ Future
Incoming providers may begin staff hiring, school meetings, parent communication, registration, program planning, and transition work.
DYCD, NYCPS, school, provider
Implementation depends on DYCD oversight, school cooperation, provider readiness, and family communication.
Monitor promises
Families should document whether the provider preserves staff, activities, disability access, communication, and safe routines.
Demand written plans
Ask for transition plans, disability-access protocols, staff-retention plans, warm handoffs, and 30/60/90-day reviews.
| Implementation issue | What parents should ask for |
|---|---|
| Staffing | Who is being retained? Who is replacing known staff? What is the hiring timeline? |
| Disability access | Who is the Inclusion Coordinator? What is the accommodation process? What happens before a child is excluded? |
| IEP / 504 continuity | How will supports, routines, sensory needs, and behavioral plans be reviewed with parent consent? |
| School Partnership Agreement | Has the school actually signed? What services, communication channels, and family processes are included? |
| Program continuity | Which sports, arts, clubs, theater, debate, tutoring, and late-pickup options continue? |
| Warm handoff | Will outgoing staff brief incoming staff and families before children start? |
🟡 It can change implementation, even if the award stands.
If the contracts move forward, families can still force written commitments, document failures, file disability grievances, demand corrective action, and push for oversight.
Judicial Review / Article 78
Do not think of this as “then we sue.” Think of it as judicial review: a court reviews whether DYCD acted lawfully, rationally, and according to required procedures.
⚪ Possible future step
Article 78 is not the current mass-action step, but families should build the record now in case judicial review becomes necessary.
New York Supreme Court
Article 78 proceedings are filed in New York State Supreme Court to challenge government action.
Review legality
The court can review whether DYCD acted arbitrarily, capriciously, unlawfully, or contrary to the RFP and procurement rules.
Preserve evidence
Save emails, letters, public statements, missing-record requests, disability concerns, school-specific harms, and agency responses.
Arbitrary and capricious
Was the decision rational and supported by a record?
Failure to follow RFP
Did DYCD follow its own disclosed process and award rules?
Procurement violations
Were scoring, protests, eligibility, or award discretion handled properly?
Disability access
Did the selection method or implementation plan impair access for disabled students or parents?
Missing record
Did DYCD make public claims without a record that supports them?
Implementation harm
Are children, staff, and school communities facing irreparable disruption?
Article 78 generally reviews the administrative record that exists.
If the record is incomplete, families need to show what was requested, what was missing, what DYCD said, what the Comptroller reviewed, and what harm became foreseeable before implementation.
Implementation oversight
Even if Article 78 never happens, the fight does not end. Once programs begin, families can monitor whether contracts and legal obligations are actually followed.
⚪ Future / ongoing
Oversight continues after registration, after transition, and after the first day of programming.
Multiple oversight bodies
DYCD, Comptroller, Public Advocate, DOI, City Council, CECs, NYCPS, state/federal disability agencies, and courts may all become relevant.
Track compliance
Document broken promises, lost programs, staff turnover, exclusions, accommodation failures, and contract noncompliance.
Report problems early
Do not wait months. Save emails, ask for written explanations, and submit issues through the right channel.
| If contracts move forward, monitor | Possible response |
|---|---|
| Lost staff / no warm handoff | Submit workforce-continuity evidence and request corrective action. |
| Lost activities | Compare promised scope to actual schedule; document missing programs. |
| Disability access failure | File disability grievance, request accommodation, demand written denial reasons. |
| Informal exclusion or “not a good fit” language | Document immediately; request individualized assessment and non-exclusion protocol. |
| No parent communication | Request written communication protocol and single accountable contact. |
| Safety or licensing concerns | Escalate to DYCD, NYCPS, applicable licensing agency, and oversight officials. |
✅ Yes — oversight can force correction even after implementation.
The legal and political fight changes form: instead of challenging the award, families enforce the contract, disability law, safety rules, public promises, and implementation requirements.
Decision tree: where are you?
Use this page as a navigation map. Find your situation and go to the next step.
My provider lost.
Understand the award rules, contradictions, and records needed to test DYCD’s decision.
Go to Award Process → 🟦I’m worried about disability access.
Use the disability-access path for IEP/504, autism, ADHD, sensory, behavior, and parent-access issues.
Go to Disability Grievance → 🟨My contract has not registered.
This is the current leverage point. Ask the Comptroller to require the complete record.
Go to Comptroller Action → 🟩The contract registered.
The fight shifts to staffing, programs, transition, disability access, and compliance.
Go to Transition Oversight → ⚖️I think the process was unlawful.
Understand Article 78 and why the administrative record matters.
Go to Judicial Review → 📣I have school-specific evidence.
Submit documents, statements, timelines, provider communications, or transition concerns.
Contact us →