Special Education Updates During Covid-19
Parents of students with disabilities are dealing with things we have never seen before in our lifetime. To put this into perspective, students with disabilities first began receiving rights to be educated in the public school system in the mid-1970s (yes, this happened well after schools were racially desegregated - which is why I believe that disability is a civil rights issue). In the past two weeks, we have seen threats to special education that we have not seen since before students with disabilities even had the right to a public education. There have been a number of updates, posts, new governmental orders, which I will try to summarize here.
The information listed here is related to California and is not exhaustive:
DOE Guidance on FAPE During Covid-19 Crisis
On March 20, 2020, the Department issued new guidance on your child’s right to a FAPE during the COVID-19 crisis: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/frontpage/faq/rr/policyguidance/Supple%20Fact%20 Sheet%203.21.20%20FINAL.pdf.
The guidance warned schools against declining to offer distance learning to avoid its responsibilities under special education law. It emphasized that students with disabilities are still entitled to a FAPE, but that the delivery of services must be consistent with the need to protect the health and safety of students with disabilities and school staff.
This means that your child’s IEP might not be implemented the way it would be if school was in session. The school may choose to use disability-related modifications and services provided online, including extensions of time for assignments, videos with accurate captioning or embedded sign language interpreting, accessible reading materials, and many speech or language services through video conferencing. Where there are delays in services, the IEP or 504 team must make an individualized determination on whether, and to what extent, compensatory services may be needed when schools resume normal operations.
Additionally, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) do not specifically address schools closing for an extended period (generally, more than 10 consecutive days) because of exceptional circumstances, such as an outbreak of a disease.
Issues a School District Should Consider During Covid-19
1. If the school district has closed and is not providing educational services to general education students, it is not required to provide services to special education students.
2. If the school district has closed and is providing educational opportunities to general education students, it must provide equal access to these opportunities for special education students, including the provision of Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). Districts must ensure that each student with a disability can be provided the special education and related services identified in the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) developed under IDEA, or a plan developed under Section 504.
3. If your child has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and is hospitalized or must stay home when schools reopen, the school district must provide your child with educational services in the hospital/home while the schools remain open.
An IEP team may also consider a distance learning plan in a child’s IEP as a contingency plan in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak that requires the school’s closure.
Timelines During Covid-19
Schools are still required to comply with the timelines in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The U.S. Department of Education and California Department of Education have provided guidance that gives schools some flexibility with the timelines. Further, on March 17, 2020, the California Legislature passed SB 117, a law that waives several state special education timelines. SB 117 impacts California students with disabilities’ special education rights. It waives – or pauses – many special education timelines while public schools are closed due to COVID-19.
SB 117 considers your school “closed” even if it offers independent study, distance learning, or both.These timelines will start again once schools reopen and the regular school session starts again. The special education timelines that SB 117 waives are state law requirements. SB 117 does not waive any federal requirements imposed under the federal Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
What Constitutes Equal Access In A Time of Distance Learning
Some school districts have opted to provide "distance learning" services by telephone or computer. How services are provided must consider the individual and unique needs of your child. School districts should consider your child’s ability to access these distance learning services and provide appropriate accommodations so that your child can benefit from these services.
Equal access may include accommodations and modifications, such as making sure materials are available in an accessible format, providing school-purchased devices and assistive technology, assigning reduced assignments, or modifying the curriculum. Equal access may also include individualized special education instruction and related services, including speech, occupational therapy and behavior supports.
Accommodations for distance learning settings include, but are not limited to, providing individualized instruction, extensions of time for assignments, and videos with captioning and embedded sign language interpretation.
If your child is not receiving instruction or is not able to access the instruction offered to him/her, we encourage you to inform us immediately so that we can work on securing services for your child, depending on our agreement with you. Some concerns are lack of coordination of related service providers, online instruction that is not readily accessible to the child without the help of an adult, use of worksheets in lieu of video conferencing, general education teachers not individualizing instruction, etc.
IEP Meetings During Covid-19
IEP meetings may still take place during school closures through the use of teleconferencing. Parents can participate in these meetings by phone or computer. If you have retained us for IEP advocacy or for legal representation during due process claims, we are working on securing dates for your meetings and will be in touch about the responses from your district next week.
Pending Assessments During Covid-19
Ordinarily, school districts must complete assessments within 60 days; however, during the school closures, any assessments requiring face-to-face assessment may be delayed until school reopens. Alternate measures may be explored by your district.
If your child does not receive services for an extended period of time as a result of the school closures, their IEP team will be required to make an individualized determination whether compensatory services are needed to make up for any skills that may have been lost.
If you need immediate assistance, please call the office at 323-977-4477 or click the link below to set up a meeting with our Client Services Coordinator: