TAKE CONTROL IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

So, it appears that many schools across the nation will not be going back in August or September. Some of the largest school systems in the nation will have yet another semester, or more, of their students homebound. Some kids will be working with their parents, some won’t because parents simply don’t have the capacity to teach their children (that’s why they send them to school) or have to work so that the family can afford life’s necessities.

If you’re fortunate enough to be able to work with your kids at home, and for some it’s been amazing (I’ve seen kids make more progress in 4 months of being taught by their parents at home than in 2 years spent in a school), that’s great! Keep up the good work!

No matter which parent you seem to have more in common with, both described above (if their child has an IEP), should be receiving some semblance of FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education) from their child’s school. This is really code for – school following the IEP, or school providing service and accommodations to meet the needs of the student. Hopefully, you have a well written IEP that clearly describes the needs of your child and as a result, services to meet those needs are included. These could be things like language therapy, occupational therapy, specialized instruction in reading, etc.  The federal Department of Education did NOT give school systems a waiver to get out of the provision of FAPE; therefore if all your child is receiving is uploaded worksheets for you to do with them, that’s typically not FAPE – at least not for any child that I know.

A few months back school systems across the nation created something called Distance Learning Plans, or Contingency Learning Plans. Nowhere in federal law does it refer to these types of plans, and they are NOT to be confused with IEPs. An IEP is a legally binding document that requires parent participation (at least the school is required to attempt to get parent participation). For many parents, these plans were sent over via email, or popped into the mail. Tons of parents nearly lost their minds when they saw that services were greatly reduced from what was on their child’s IEPs without any collaboration with them.

If this is what happened to you, know that you do have options. There’s a letter on Wrightslaw.com that can help you write that letter to your school so that you can document how you feel about your child’s “plan” (see link below). Also know that you can, and should, continue to have IEP meetings where the team comes together (virtually if not in-person) to discuss the needs of your child and CONTINUE with the services on the IEP as it was last written – and in some cases services can actually be increased if that’s what your child needs. Just because some school districts are doing school virtually does not mean that services for a child with a disability come to a halt; however, parents need to know their rights more than ever before in order to keep the IEP intact, and ensure that the services provided in the meantime are in place to help their child continue to develop and work towards mastering the IEP goals.

If you want to begin your Covid educational advocacy trek, you can start with writing a letter about the Distance Learning or Contingency Plan that you’ve received from your school. Here’s a template provided by Wrightslaw:  https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/ltrs.virus.clp.htm?fbclid=IwAR3YSvQM4VRgwVSFHHNfVfV286b0ewBYYpOIqwMadpp_533EF1RwGqGh0hk

If we can help, let us know. We attend IEP meetings virtually from coast to coast!

Video from the Spring, but still relevant: