The Education Law Blog: April 2020

Clearing COVID-19 Confusion

COVID-19 has caused disruption, chaos, and uncertainty for all, but parents of children with disabilities face unique challenges. School Districts and Intermediate Units are providing inconsistent information that seems to change on a weekly basis and parents of disabled children are left uncertain of their children’s rights and how to navigate this overwhelming time to meet their children’s needs. In this blog, we provide parent pointers to help you to manage this uncertain time.

Document, document, document!  Documentation of your child’s progress or regression is your key to success.  When schools reopen, your child is likely to need compensatory education to make up for the education and services lost. You are more likely to receive those services if you can present specific and dated data of your child’s progress, regression, and missed services rather than a general statement about regression.  Keep contemporaneous notes and even occasional videos of progress.  If you are not sure how to document progress, ask your case manager or special education director.

Request teleservices.  Although your child is likely to need compensatory services when schools reopen, you are better off doing everything you can to advocate for your child’s school to meet his/her needs as much as they are able to do so now and make up the difference later.  The law requires that schools make a good faith effort to meet disabled students’ needs during this COVID-19 shutdown.  This is why you should request teleservices in writing from your District or Intermediate Unit now. Some School Districts are successfully providing teleservices for a range of services. 

Private teleservices.  If your District fails to provide any form of teletherapy and you can afford to hire a private teletherapist, you may be able to recoup the cost from the District later.  If you choose this route, make sure to request this in writing by emailing a letter to your special education director explaining that the District is failing to provide a free, appropriate education and you have been forced to pay privately to prevent your child from regressing.  Let your District or Intermediate Unit know that you are seeking reimbursement for your private teleservices and intend to hire a private teletherapist within 10 business days of your email or letter. After emailing the letter, wait ten business days before starting the private teletherapy.

NOREPs and Waivers:  Some Districts have asked parents to sign blanket waivers that state services will only be provided by the District if parents waive their right to bring a lawsuit.  This is an unfair and illegal requirement.  If you receive such a request in a NOREP or otherwise, cross out the waiver paragraph and above your signature write, “While I accept services offered in this NOREP, I do not agree that these services qualify as a free, appropriate education and I reserve all of my rights and my child’s rights including the right to compensatory education.”  Remember you can agree and disagree with a NOREP simultaneously thereby accepting some services and rejecting or requesting other services. If you choose to do this, be specific on what you are agreeing with and what you are disagreeing with on the NOREP.

Useful Resources during COVID-19 School Closings: We have listed a number of useful resources and websites below.

• U.S. Department of Education Webinar and Fact Sheet for protecting students’ civil rights during COVID-19: https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-releases-webinar-fact-sheet-protecting-students-civil-rights-during-covid-19-response.

• IDEA Questions and Answers from the U.S. Department of Education: https://sites.ed.gov/idea/idea-files/q-and-a-providing-services-to-children-with-disabilities-during-the-coronavirus-disease-2019-outbreak/#Q-A-1.

• Office of Civil Rights Short Webinar on Education and Website Accessibilty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=&v=DCMLk4cES6A.

• Educating All Learners- An alliance of national education organizations that has created a hub of curated tools, strategies, tips, and best practices for supporting students with disabilities online: Educatingalllearners.org/about.

• Pennsylvania Secretary of Education’s Order in Response to the Pandemic of 2020 (Act 13): https://www.education.pa.gov/Documents/K-12/Safe%20Schools/COVID/Act%2013%20Order.pdf

• Pennsylvania Bureau of Special Education Guidance on Act 13 of 2020: https://www.education.pa.gov/K-12/Special%20Education/FAQContact/Pages/Act13Guidance.aspx

• Pennsylvania Guidance on Telehealth during COVID-19: https://www.education.pa.gov/K-12/Special%20Education/FAQContact/Pages/Act13Guidance.aspx

• Resources for Instruction: http://www.pdesas.org/Home/FeaturedContent?contentItemId=741736

• Frequently Answered Questions and Answers regarding school closures in Pennsylvania: https://www.education.pa.gov/Schools/safeschools/emergencyplanning/COVID-19/Pages/AnswersToFAQs.aspx

• New Jersey Department of Education Guidance during COVID-19: https://www.nj.gov/education/covid19/

• New Jersey Department of Education providing lessons on public television: https://www.njtvonline.org/about/where-to-watch/

• Ethics Guidance for ABA Providers during COVID-19: https://www.bacb.com/ethics-guidance-for-aba-providers-during-covid-19-pandemic-2/

• Resource for parents of students transitioning after high school:  www.transitiontuesday.org

• Telepractice guidelines by American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: https://www.asha.org/PRPSpecificTopic.aspx?folderid=8589934956&section=References

• Making E-Learning Accessible: https://learningtools.donjohnston.com/elearning/

• Five ways to work from home with you kids (and stay sane): https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/working-parents-school-closures-coronavirus/

• Supporting Kids during the Coronavirus Crisis: https://childmind.org/article/supporting-kids-during-the-covid-19-crisis/

• Teen Support Center offering sliding scale spots in groups and individual treatment for teens of healthcare workers and grocery store employees:  www.creativehealingphilly.com

Remember that we’re always here if you need us!

For a free consultation, call 215-830-5025 or email edlaw@oyblaw.com.  We hope you stay safe and sane!

by Leona Z. Goldshaw, Esq.

Creating a Successful School Year

Welcome to the kick-off edition of our education law blog! Each new school year brings new teachers, new classes, and new anxieties.  Parents of children with special needs face the added stressor of wondering whether their child’s school will accommodate those needs appropriately.  Here are some strategies to increase the likelihood of a collaborative relationship with your child’s school team.

1. Don’t rely on assumptions.

Don’t assume that the school will provide specific accommodations if those accommodations are not specifically listed in your child’s IEP or 504 Plan even if you have discussed those accommodations with school officials in the past.  Make sure that your child’s written plan accurately reflects her needs and correctly describes all accommodations.  Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification.

2. Hold a team meeting (IEP or 504).

A new school year means new teachers, new expectations, and new classes.  Your child’s needs may also have changed.  By the end of September, your child’s teachers should have a better sense of your child.  This is a great time to hold a meeting to discuss the team’s expectations for the 2019-20 school year.  Remember that parents are an integral part of your child’s team.  If you have had a private evaluation or medical  information that may impact your child’s education, make sure to share those evaluations and feedback with the team.

3. Contact the teachers.

If you have a child in middle school or high school, you may not be able to personally meet with all your child’s teachers by the end of September.  To familiarize your child’s teachers with your child, teachers appreciate a short email describing your perspective of your child’s needs and how to effectively address those needs.

4. Create a chronology.

Create a chronology of your child’s educational and medical history.  A chronology is essentially your child’s story focusing on his educational history.  Begin by briefly stating when your child was diagnosed and any steps you took after the diagnosis, what kind of tutors or therapists treated your child and how he responded.  Include information about school services provided to your child in past years and whether and why they were successful or not.  Update your chronology periodically.  The best way to start drafting the chronology is to arrange all of your child’s records in chronological order by date and use the dates to anchor your timeline.  This document will be useful to you throughout your child’s academic career.

Remember that we’re always here if you need us!

by Leona Z. Goldshaw, Esq.

Call for a free consultation

215-830-5025