NYC Special Education Claims: What the City Paid Families Each Year, FY2011–FY2026
Original analysis of 64,895 records from the New York City Comptroller, FY2011–FY2026 (NYC fiscal years, July 2010–June 2026). Published October 10, 2026.
We added up every special education claim payment in the New York City Comptroller's Claims Dashboard for fiscal years 2011 through 2026: dollars paid, claims paid, the amount per claim and the share of all law-claim payouts.
What the NYC special education claim data show
New York City paid $432.4 million on 4,629 special education claims in fiscal year 2026, 4.1× the $105.5 million it paid in FY2011 and 51% of everything it paid on law (non-tort) claims that year. Across fiscal years 2011 through 2026 the City paid $4.5 billion on these claims, which families bring to recover tuition and special education services and the statutory attorneys' fees that follow a successful claim. Amounts are not adjusted for inflation.
- $432MPaid on special education claims in FY2026
- $4.47BPaid in total, FY2011–FY2026
- 51%Share of all NYC law-claim payouts, FY2026
Payouts quadrupled over the series
Special education claim payments rose from $105.5 million in FY2011 to $432.4 million in FY2026, 4.1× as much, in dollars not adjusted for inflation. Within the series they were highest in FY2025, at $483.6 million.
More claims, and more per claim
The number of claims paid grew 2.2×, from 2,085 to 4,629. The average paid per claim rose 85%, from $50,581 to $93,418.
The largest type of law claim
Special education was the largest law claim type by dollars paid in 13 of the 16 fiscal years. In the other years, judgments on salary claims, mainly judgments in a teacher-certification class action against the Department of Education, paid out more.
Big claims now carry most of the money
In FY2026, 1,766 claims received $100,000 or more within the year, 38% of all claims paid and 59% of the dollars. In FY2016 it was 529 claims, or 14%.
FY2026 came in below FY2025
Payments in FY2026 were 10.6% lower than in FY2025, with fewer claims paid (4,629 against 5,468); FY2026 was still higher than any year before FY2025.
How Much Does NYC Pay on Special Education Claims Each Year
Dollars New York City paid on special education claims in each fiscal year, with the number of claims paid and the median paid per claim.
The City paid $432.4 million on 4,629 special education claims in FY2026, against $105.5 million on 2,085 claims in FY2011.
From FY2011 through FY2026 the Comptroller's Claims Dashboard records 64,085 special education payments on 63,812 distinct claims, totaling $4.5 billion. Payments generally rose through FY2020, with $256.5 million in FY2016, fell to $224.9 million in FY2021 and then rose four years in a row to $483.6 million in FY2025. FY2026 followed at $432.4 million.
The median amount paid per claim within a year more than doubled, from $39,500 in FY2011 to $86,751 in FY2026. Our totals match the Comptroller's published figures: for FY2023 we count $397.9 million on 5,637 claims, against the $397.0 million and 5,626 settled claims in the FY2023 Annual Claims Report, 0.23% apart.
In the current fiscal year, FY2027, the City paid $76.1 million on 809 claims from July 1 through October 9, 2026. That is about a quarter of a year and is shown in the chart only as a partial year.
NYC special education claim payments by fiscal year (FY2027 partial)
- FY2027 (partial)$76.1 million809 claims · median $99,500
- FY2026$432.4 million4,629 claims · median $86,751
- FY2025$483.6 million5,468 claims · median $83,100
- FY2024$425.1 million5,243 claims · median $79,275
- FY2023$397.9 million5,637 claims · median $72,725
- FY2022$304.0 million4,647 claims · median $68,500
- FY2021$224.9 million3,665 claims · median $64,500
- FY2020$360.6 million5,414 claims · median $65,843
- FY2019$286.0 million4,257 claims · median $63,170
- FY2018$304.1 million4,592 claims · median $60,750
- FY2017$279.6 million3,969 claims · median $60,450
- FY2016$256.5 million3,773 claims · median $57,500
- FY2015$249.9 million4,067 claims · median $52,500
- FY2014$130.5 million2,223 claims · median $47,000
- FY2013$106.2 million1,841 claims · median $45,800
All fiscal years
- FY2012$120.6 million2,366 claims · median $40,250
- FY2011$105.5 million2,085 claims · median $39,500
New York City's fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30; FY2026 is July 2025 through June 2026. FY2027 covers July 1 to October 9, 2026 only.
What Share of NYC Law Claim Payouts Goes to Special Education
Dollars paid in FY2026 on each type of law (non-tort) claim in the Claims Dashboard, excluding affirmative claims brought by the City and civil penalties.
Special education claims accounted for 51% of the $840.0 million the City paid on law claims in FY2026; salary claims were second at $191.7 million.
Law claims are the City's non-tort claims: contracts, refunds, employee salary disputes, special education and others. In FY2026 special education claims made up 51% of law-claim payouts. The share was 74% in FY2011 and 56% in FY2023, the same as the Comptroller's published figure for that year.
The share moves with the other claim types as much as with special education. In FY2022, FY2024 and FY2025 salary claims were the largest law claim type; they include judgments in a teacher-certification class action against the Department of Education that the City is paying from FY2022 through FY2028, and the special education share fell to 37% in FY2022 and 46% in FY2025.
NYC law claim payouts by claim type, FY2026
| Claim type | Claims | Paid | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Special Education | 4,629 | $432.4M | 51.48% |
| Salary | 24 | $191.7M | 22.82% |
| Miscellaneous | 151 | $147.1M | 17.51% |
| Contract | 25 | $64.2M | 7.64% |
| Disputes | 21 | $4.1M | 0.48% |
| Equitable | 4 | $406K | 0.05% |
| Refund | 3 | $170K | 0.02% |
The fiscal-year CSV gives this share for every fiscal year.
How Much Does NYC Pay per Special Education Claim
Special education claims grouped by the total the City paid on each claim within the fiscal year, FY2016 against FY2026.
The average FY2026 claim received $93,418 and the median $86,751; 38% of claims received $100,000 or more.
In FY2016, 529 claims, or 14%, received $100,000 or more within the year. By FY2026, 1,766 claims received $100,000 or more within the year, and together they accounted for 59% of the dollars. The average per claim rose 37% over the decade while the number of claims paid rose 23%.
The dashboard does not split a payment into tuition, services and attorneys' fees, so the groups mix all three.
Special education claims by amount paid per claim, FY2016 and FY2026
| Per claim | FY2016 | FY2026 | FY26 share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $10K | 4 | 398 | 0.6% |
| $10K–$50K | 1,027 | 449 | 2.0% |
| $50K–$100K | 2,213 | 2,016 | 38.3% |
| $100K–$250K | 507 | 1,742 | 57.4% |
| $250K and more | 22 | 24 | 1.8% |
Amounts are the total paid on a claim within the fiscal year. Share is the group's share of FY2026 special education dollars.
Download the Data and Cite This Study
Every table on this page as a CSV file, free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0).
- NYC law (non-tort) claim payouts by claim type, FY2026Distinct claims and dollars paid in New York City fiscal year 2026 for each law claim type in the Comptroller's Claims Dashboard, excluding affirmative claims and civil penalties. · 7 rows · CSV, 1 KB
- NYC special education claim payments by fiscal year, FY2011–FY2027 (FY2027 partial)Newest year first: payments, distinct claims, dollars paid, average and median per claim, share of all law-claim payouts and share paid before litigation, per New York City fiscal year (July–June); FY2027 covers July 1 to 10/09/2026 only. · 17 rows · CSV, 1 KB
- NYC special education claims by amount paid per claim, FY2016 and FY2026Number of special education claims by total paid on the claim within the fiscal year, for FY2016 and FY2026, with FY2026 dollars and share of dollars per size group. · 5 rows · CSV, 1 KB
How to cite
Goldberg, L. (2026). NYC Special Education Claims — Payments, Claims Paid and Share of Law-Claim Payouts by Fiscal Year (FY2011–FY2026) [Data set]. Settlement Insight. https://settlementinsight.com/research/nyc-special-education-claims
BibTeX
@dataset{goldberg_2026_nyc_special_education_claims,
author = {Goldberg, Leonard},
title = {NYC Special Education Claims --- Payments, Claims Paid and Share of Law-Claim Payouts by Fiscal Year (FY2011--FY2026)},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Settlement Insight},
url = {https://settlementinsight.com/research/nyc-special-education-claims}
}How We Measured
Checked against published figures
- Special education claim payouts, FY2023: published $397.0 million, our count $397.9 million (0.23% apart).Annual Claims Report, Fiscal Year 2023 (Office of the New York City Comptroller)
- Special education claim payouts, FY2022: published $303.5 million, our count $304.0 million (0.16% apart).Annual Claims Report, Fiscal Year 2023 (Office of the New York City Comptroller)
- Special education claims settled, FY2023: published 5,626, our count 5,637 (0.20% apart).Annual Claims Report, Fiscal Year 2023 (Office of the New York City Comptroller)
- Special education claims settled, FY2022: published 4,641, our count 4,647 (0.13% apart).Annual Claims Report, Fiscal Year 2023 (Office of the New York City Comptroller)
- All law claim payouts, FY2023 (denominator of the share): published $708.9 million, our count $713.1 million (0.59% apart).Annual Claims Report, Fiscal Year 2023 (Office of the New York City Comptroller)
- Special education claim payouts, FY2024: published $416.3 million, our count $425.1 million (2.11% apart).Comptroller Lander's New Dashboard Tracks City Claims & Settlements; City Paid Nearly $2B in Settlements Last Fiscal Year (April 30, 2025)
- All law claim payouts, FY2024 (denominator of the share): published $907.8 million, our count $918.9 million (1.22% apart).Comptroller Lander's New Dashboard Tracks City Claims & Settlements; City Paid Nearly $2B in Settlements Last Fiscal Year (April 30, 2025)
Full method and limits of the data
Scope: records with the dashboard claim type "Special Education", a law (non-tort) claim category; 99.1% of the dollars are recorded against the Department of Education. The Comptroller describes these as claims for reimbursement of special education services and tuition, plus statutory attorneys' fees after a successful underlying claim. Fiscal years run July through June. FY2010 is left out because the dashboard holds almost no special education payments for February through June 2010, so the year is incomplete; FY2027 has only begun and is shown separately as a partial year.
Calculation: dollars are the sum of payments dated in the fiscal year. Claims are distinct claim numbers paid in the year; a claim paid in two fiscal years counts in both, which is why the yearly counts add up to 63,876 while there are 63,812 distinct claims. Average and median per claim use the total paid on a claim within the year. The share of law-claim payouts divides special education dollars by all law-claim dollars in the dashboard except affirmative claims and civil penalties, which reproduces the Comptroller's published law-claim totals.
Calibration: for FY2023 we count $397.9 million and 5,637 claims, against $397.0 million and 5,626 claims settled in the Comptroller's FY2023 Annual Claims Report (0.23% apart). FY2022 and the FY2023 law-claim total agree to within one percent. For FY2024 the current dashboard shows $425.1 million, 2.11% more than the $416.3 million the Comptroller announced in April 2025, possibly because of payments recorded after that date.
What this data cannot tell you
- The figures count money paid, not claims filed or decided in a year, and they do not say why a family brought a claim or whether the services were later provided. The data do not separate tuition, services and attorneys' fees.
- Dollar amounts are not adjusted for inflation or for the number of students with disabilities, which also changed over the period.
- FY2026 ended on June 30, 2026, and the dashboard can still record late payments for it, so the FY2026 total may rise slightly; part of the decline from FY2025 could reflect such posting delays. FY2027 covers only July 1 to October 9, 2026 and is not comparable with full years.
- The Comptroller's August 2023 Course Correction report describes costs that "escalated from $33 million to $372 million between FY 2012 and FY 2022". Those figures use a different measure from the dashboard payments counted here and are not reproduced by our totals.
- The dashboard marks almost all special education payments since FY2019 as pre-litigation settlements and almost none before FY2016. We report the field in the CSV but do not interpret it, because the shift may reflect a change in how claims were handled or recorded.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does NYC pay on special education claims?
In fiscal year 2026 (July 2025 to June 2026) New York City paid $432.4 million on 4,629 special education claims, according to the Comptroller's Claims Dashboard. From FY2011 through FY2026 the total was $4.5 billion.
Are special education settlements in New York City increasing?
Over the long run, yes: payments rose from $105.5 million in FY2011 to $432.4 million in FY2026, 4.1× as much in dollars not adjusted for inflation. The highest year in the series was FY2025 at $483.6 million; FY2026 was 10.6% lower.
What is a special education claim against the NYC Department of Education?
It is a claim by parents for reimbursement of special education services or tuition when the City has not provided the services a child is entitled to, together with statutory attorneys' fees after a successful claim. The Comptroller counts them as law (non-tort) claims, and 99.1% of the dollars are recorded against the Department of Education.
How much does NYC pay per special education claim?
In FY2026 the average claim received $93,418 and the median $86,751 within the year. In FY2011 the average was $50,581.
What share of NYC legal claim payouts is special education?
Special education claims accounted for 51% of the $840.0 million New York City paid on law (non-tort) claims in FY2026. They were the largest law claim type in 13 of the 16 fiscal years from FY2011 to FY2026.
Where does the NYC special education claims data come from?
From the New York City Comptroller's Claims Dashboard, which lists individual claim payments and replaced the Comptroller's Annual Claims Report. Our FY2023 total is 0.23% from the figure in that year's Annual Claims Report.
Sources
- Claims Dashboard — Office of the New York City Comptroller
- Annual Claims Report, Fiscal Year 2023 — Office of the New York City Comptroller
- Comptroller Lander's New Dashboard Tracks City Claims & Settlements; City Paid Nearly $2B in Settlements Last Fiscal Year (April 30, 2025) — Office of the New York City Comptroller
- Course Correction: Expanding and strengthening special education services improves student outcomes and reduces costly due process claims — Office of the New York City Comptroller
- Independent analysis. Settlement Insight is not a law firm and not affiliated with any agency named here. Analysis by Leonard Goldberg, Editor. How we work: methodology, our data.
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