Students with educational disabilities have an IEP which details the special education services to be provided to your child. No children with IEPs have has these services provided in accordance with their IEPs since the closures of schools nationwide in March 2020. Most of America assumed, based on confusing advice from our leadership and health officials, that schools would open for in-person learning, waving farewell to the ill-conceived notion of virtual learning for students with IEPs.
Many of these children may be non-verbal, have physical disabilities, or attention deficits. Many parents work. In order to access an appropriate education, often speech and language therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy are required.
What is a family to do? How will these children with significant learning challenges be able to access the appropriate curriculum? Regression in learning is taking place for regular and special education students when only able to access their learning virtually.
To counteract this loss of access, some school systems are transporting students with disabilities to schools on certain days, in combination with virtual learning. Since many of these students have health conditions placing them at risk if exposed to COVID, returning to a physical classroom, mainstreamed with their appropriate grade and age peers, is too dangerous.
In-home services by teachers and other appropriately trained therapists should begin as soon as these personnel can be identified. School systems are struggling to engage personnel, provide safe transportation, physically distanced classrooms, and assess how to compensate students for their interruption of services.
While in the long-run parents will need to decide for their family what is best for their child, school systems need to provide the safe and effective environments for special education which can be safely selected by parents and children.
Early Intervention Services and Special Education for Parents and Grandparents 