Dive Brief:

• A class action lawsuit filed in a New York City District Court on Wednesday alleges that the city's education department didn't adhere to state and federal laws mandating special education students receive transitional services.
• For example, the parents of 16-year-old plaintiff Mohand Khattab say he never received a vocational assessment or training on life after high school.
• The department has responded to the lawsuit, saying it is working with Khattab and his parents to ensure he gets the support and services necessary.

Dive Insight:

While the department says it is working with Khattab's family to ensure he gets proper transitional services, the boy's father is wary that the damage may already been done. "I don't want him to continue to fall through the cracks anymore," Hossam Khattab told NBC "We are trying to give him a future, to be independent, to be self-sufficient, to help himself."

The city is responsible for providing transitional services to tens of thousands of special needs students, and while Khattab's case is obviously compelling, the bigger question is how many other students failed to receive these services —​ and how many of them might now come forward..