COVID 19 COMPENSATORY SERVICES ("CCS")
What are COVID-19 Compensatory Services (CCS)?
They are services that a student’s IEP Team determines are needed to remedy a student’s skill or knowledge loss or lack of effective progress that resulted from delayed, interrupted, suspended, or inaccessible IEP services because of the emergency suspension of in-person education related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Who decides if the Student needs CCS?
The DESE recommendation stated “[i]f a student does not receive services after an extended period of time, the student’s Team … must make an individualized determination whether and to what extent compensatory services are needed, consistent with … applicable requirements, [i.e., IEP Team requirements and individualized decision-making] including to make up for any skills that have been lost.”
Using data available from multiple sources, IEP Teams should determine whether, and to what extent, the student recouped the lost skills and/or behaviors or has made effective progress, and whether and to what extent the student needs CCS.
Determinations of CCS by the IEP Team must be based on information provided by the parents and data and information available from other sources, and be information-based, individualized determinations.
CCS are not necessarily a 1:1 correspondence to missed IEP services but are identified following the individualized determination of a student’s need.
Which students should be prioritized?
First, students with disabilities who did not receive or were unable to access any special education services during the suspension of in-person education are likely to require CCS and should be prioritized.
Second, other students with IEPs, including students with significant and complex needs, are also likely to require CCS and should also be prioritized for consideration.
What should all parents/guardians know about CCS?
CCS may be made available to students with disabilities and students without disabilities who need it to address educational and social-emotional needs and reorient them to learning.
Most CCS for students with IEPs will be to remedy a skill or knowledge loss or lack of effective progress due to delayed, interrupted, suspended, or inaccessible IEP services because of the emergency suspension of in-person education related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
New IEP Services:
CCS should be added as new IEP Services.
DESE recommends that CCS determinations be made as soon as possible but not later than December 15, 2020. This is to allow both students and staff to acclimate to the new instructional environment this fall.
For all other students who are not in the priority groups, the individualized determination of the need for CCS will be informed by a period of initial observation, a period of re-acclimation to learning, and a review of data on recovery of learning loss and progress.
Have questions or concerns about your student? Contact us to discuss further:
E.M. Curran Legal LLC
10 Tower Office Park
Suite 314
Woburn, MA 01801
Phone: 781-933-1542
Fax: 781-933-1549