
Hello brain people! Here in the state of Texas we have been told that classes will be held virtually for the remainder of the school year. Some have voiced concerns that with the possibility of recurrent spikes in COVID-19 cases that schools may intermittently need to be closed until a vaccine is developed. For children who are receiving general education classes without support, this means some adjustment and support from parents. For children with disabilities, this means that major differences are present in how children are being taught, supported, and are learning. Although school in its usual form is fully disrupted at this point, your local school district, which is receiving funds from the state and federal government in order to provide educational supports for your child with a disability, is still responsible for their part. Your child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is required to be implemented as written, even if services are being provided virtually. This may mean schools and teachers being very creative about how to pair up with you at home to provide these services, but pull out resource classes, push in inclusion time, Special Education counseling, social skills classes, consultation between speech, occupational, and physical therapy providers and parents, and even some direct services like dyslexia remediation and speech therapy sessions can be completed virtually. Does this mean your child will be attentive and get the same results as they would have at school? Unlikely. Does this mean that those services that need to be provided in person, like occupational therapy, physical therapy, and work with a visual therapist are no longer required? Absolutely not. The school district, which is often referred to as the LEA (Local Education Agency), is still responsible for providing these services. If they cannot come up with a way to offer these services with restrictions in place, does that mean that it is just lost time? Also no.
This is where things get tricky, because your child with a disability has been provided those services to date because they NEED them to be able to participate fully in their educational setting. If services are not offered at all or are offered, but with less time, your child is owed that time back. This may mean families and school districts negotiating what are called compensatory services when restrictions are eased. I am not a Special Education lawyer and this is not specific guidance or advice on your child. However, as a professional working with children with disabilities, I am offering input to my patients’ families. First, educate yourself on Special Education rules that your school district has to follow. You will never be able to advocate fully for your child if you don’t know what the rules of the game are, what your responsibilities are, and what you are allowed to ask for. The school district will offer you technical paperwork to describe those rights for you, but unfortunately, not all school districts do a very good job in the process of informing parents of their rights directly. It should be something that is covered thoroughly, but it is often a process that means a packet of paperwork that parents either never read or don’t understand if they do try to educate themselves. Most times this is because Special Education teachers, case managers, assessment specialists, service providers, and general education teachers are working within a system that often asks them to do too much and frequently pays and supports them too little. Even in well funded school districts, these front line educators are often overworked and underpaid. They should speak up for your child if they are not getting what they need, and they often do. However, it is ultimately the responsibility of the parent to build the knowledge that they need to be the best advocate they can be for their child, their child’s need, and to work as a knowledgeable member of the team that makes decisions about what those supports look like. With COVID-19 restrictions in play, this means more pressure on parents to be flexible but firm. Your child with a disability should not be collateral damage. Many parents are frustrated with the response from the school district. Some are being offered individual Special Education services that are normally offered in conjunction with the general education classroom, which may mean “double duty” for kids and parents to get the virtual sessions in to fill this time.
As tempting as it may be to throw up your hands and opt out of this offering, please don’t. If you refuse the services offered there may be grounds for the school district to decline your request for compensatory services later. After all, your choice to withhold Special Education services may create a gap in your child’s skill set development that could have been avoided if services were provided as suggested. You lose the ability to work with the system if you step out of the system. However, this may mean that you have to work hard with school staff to come up with a plan that gets as much of or all of your child’s Special Education time in. Maybe your general education teacher can pass along assignments to the Special Education teacher and he/she can be the person providing lessons and instruction. Whatever the arrangement is, try your hardest to fit in your child’s legally mandated time. I know this makes it hard to work from home for all you parents. I am struggling with similar issues myself.
Put Special Education time and supports first. Fill in the remaining time with general education activities. Work with staff to reduce the number of assignments to the minimum amount needed for your child to demonstrate mastery. Ask for them to assign fewer items. Seek support on how to provide accommodations for your child when they are working. Call an educational psychologist or licensed psychologist with a specialty in school-based psychology and consult regarding how to make this work. In Texas, this is called an LSSP. There are lots of Licensed Psychologists out there who are also LSSPs. I am one. I have another psychologist on staff that is also licensed in this way. I have several phenomenal friends who practice in this way. We are here to help and there are others in your state that are waiting to assist as well. I have included some parent guides for self-education below. Hang in there! The silver lining in all of this is that many families are getting a front row seat to the lesson in how their child learns and struggles in a way that may not have been apparent before. This is the opportunity to truly understand what works and what doesn’t for your child. This is the chance to make yourself truly aware of what you can do to support them, which means when they go back to school in a building, that you will be armed with knowledge that will allow you to be a strong advocate for your child. They deserve it. You can do it!
This is the Department of Education input on Special Education amid COVID-19 restrictions
Below, see a collection of parent resources for families with children with disabilities compiled by the Texas Education Agency
https://tea.texas.gov/texas-schools/health-safety-discipline/covid/parent-resources-for-students-in-special-education