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

ellen@emcurranlegal.com

SPECIAL EDUCATION IN MA WITH COVID

School year 2020-2021 is not like any other school year. There are a lot of questions and uncertainty about what will and will not happen this year. DESE has shared many recommendations and suggestions about both general and special education. Here are some of the recommendations in regards to Special Education that will be important for parents to be aware.

Delivery of IEP Services

Students must receive all services documented in their IEPs through in-person instruction, remote instruction, or a combination of both, with a strong emphasis on providing in-person instruction to the greatest extent possible, while abiding by the current necessary health and safety requirements. In particular, DESE urges schools and districts to prioritize in-person instruction for two particular groups of students with disabilities: preschool-aged students, and students with significant and complex needs. Remote learning is often more challenging for these students.

Bottom line what does this mean? Even if the rest of the school has entered into a hybrid or remote model of instruction, schools and districts must make every effort to maintain in-person instruction for students with disabilities, particularly those with complex and significant needs and preschool-aged students.

Promoting Inclusive Services and the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

Due to the safety and health protocols that schools need to follow this year, extra consideration should be paid to setting up the classroom/learning space to allow for the physical distancing requirements for students and adults in a classroom but also having enough space to allow for support staff to enter the classrooms throughout the school day to provide services to students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment.

What does that mean?

DESE has provided the example that special education teachers and related service providers (speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, etc.), could provide special education services in the general education setting services remotely from within the school building via video conference, instead of coming into the classroom to provide services. This practice would help to minimize foot traffic in and out of classrooms while also providing access to services that support the inclusion of students with disabilities.

If service providers are not able to provide special education services in the general education setting remotely within the school building via video conference, those educators or related service providers should schedule services in a manner that maintains physical distancing requirements and avoids overlapping with other staff in the classroom or physical setting.  This means that some class sizes will need to have less students in it to accommodate the additional educators and staff members who are needed to support students with disabilities throughout the school day.

Parent Engagement

DESE is recommending that schools and districts promote regular two-way communication with families.  There is no ‘requirement’ for the frequency, preferred mode of communication and or type of communication and that should be based on the child’s individual needs as well as any language and/or technology access barriers families may face supporting their children with remote learning.

All written and oral communication must be provided in the primary language of the home and in language that is understandable to the general public. This includes translating district-wide and special education notification sent to families, as well as translating special education documents, schedules, and instructions; learning plans, IEPs, Progress Reports and using interpreters at IEP Team meetings.

DESE is recommending that any school personnel who communicates with a family should document the date/content of said communication. So, parents should do the same. This way if there is a disagreement over something both parties can look at their ‘communication log’ and see what was or was not agreed to and move forward to resolution.

Monitoring Student Progress

School districts, collaborative programs, and approved special education day and residential school programs must continue to issue Progress Reports at least as often as report cards or progress reports are provided for students without disabilities.

Educators and service providers must collect data and use this data to monitor the student’s progress to develop Progress Reports. If there are periods of remote learning, educators, service providers, parents, and students should review a student’s IEP and identify the types of data that can be collected from the student, family, and home environment. Staff can re-imagine their roles in a hybrid or remote context, e.g., by using a tracking sheet to collect data from student videos, interviewing parents and students, or using assessments.  

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

ellen@emcurranlegal.com

SPECIAL EDUCATION DURING THE COVID CRISIS IN MASSACHUSETTS

There has been a lot of news and updates since March 10th when Governor Baker declared a State of Emergency in Massachusetts.  We are highlighting some of these important topics in this blog, but it is not a complete discussion.

DO SCHOOLS NEED TO PROVIDE SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES DURING THE COVID CRISIS?

The short answer is yes.  Your student cannot be excluded from school, including remote or online school, because of a disability. Schools must use technology that is accessible, or else provide equally effective alternative options (i.e. 1:1 phone calls, work packets, or other resources.)

But parents/guardians need to acknowledge that schools may not be able to provide all services in the manner they are typically provided pursuant to students’ IEPs. Many specialized instructional opportunities and related services may be modified to be effectively provided by mailing resources and supports to students or it may be delivered online or telephonically. Some examples of specialized instruction include accessible reading materials, speech and language services through video conferencing, and videos with accurate captioning. Moreover, districts may continue to implement many of the accommodations on a student’s IEP, such as extensions of time for assignments, large print, and use of speech-to-text and other assistive technology.

During this period of school closure, districts should make every effort to use creative strategies to provide special education instruction and services to the extent feasible. Moreover, any educational opportunities offered to the general student population, including enrichment activities and resources, must be made accessible to students with disabilities. 

IEP MEETINGS:

IEP meetings should still be scheduled and happen remotely (i.e. via video or phone conference). Interpreters for parents whose primary language is not English and accommodations for parents must still be provided. You are not required to participate in a remote meeting. If you decide you want a ‘live’ IEP meeting, you and the IEP team may agree to reschedule.  If your student’s IEP expires during the school closure, it will remain in effect until a new IEP is developed and accepted.

FREQUENCY OF COMMUNICATION:

School districts should ensure that an IEP Team member (e.g., classroom teacher, special ed teacher or other service provider) communicates regularly with parents and guardians during the period of school closure. The frequency and type of communication will vary depending on the student’s individual needs, the availability of the team member, and the mode of communication utilized. This ongoing communication will help educators and parents/guardians develop a plan for students to receive as much individualized instruction and related services as is feasible through distance learning or other remote learning opportunities. Communication will also promote and sustain important connections between students and their teachers, a source of vital support and stability for students.

EXPECTATIONS:

The closing of your student’s school may cause them to regress if they do not receive all the services, they are eligible for under their IEP or 504 Plan. This means your student may be eligible for compensatory education services. Once school resumes, the school will be required to review how the school closure impacted your student. The school will then make an individualized determination as to what compensatory services are needed to provide FAPE. If you think your student may need compensatory services when schools open, we recommend that you keep a written record of all communication with the school.

IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH YOUR STUDENT RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES:

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has a Problem Resolution Hotline. Their number is 781-338-3700. They encourage parents with concerns about receiving services, while school is closed, to call the number.

ONLINE TOOLBOX FOR PARENTS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Here is the state’s new Resource Toolbox for parents of students with disabilities. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is working on translating the toolbox and will put it online once it is done being translated.

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\

ellen@emcurranlegal.com

GENERAL EDUCATION DURING THE COVID CRISIS

There has been a lot of news and updates since March 10th when Governor Baker declared a State of Emergency in Massachusetts.  We are highlighting some of these important topics in this blog, but it is not a complete discussion.

SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SCHOOL YEAR

As of April 21st, all public and private schools (not including residential special education schools) in Massachusetts will remain closed through the end of the school year.  The location where your child receives their education may be closed but they still have the right to an education.  Every enrolled student should be participating in “Remote Learning.” The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education  (or DESE) recommends that students should engage in meaningful learning for approximately half the length of a regular school day, and learning should be a combination of educator-directed and student-directed learning.

If you would like to learn more about DESE’s recommendations for “Remote Learning” please click here.

2020 MCAS REQUIREMENTS

The MCAS testing requirements for the school year are suspended/cancelled. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will modify or waive MCAS competency standards typically required to acquire a high school diploma for all students set to complete high school at the end of this school year. This is a huge windfall for those students who struggled to pass MCAS and faced the uncertainty of passing the test in time to earn their high school diploma.

FOOD INSECURITIES:

Many districts are still providing free meals to students in need. If your student would benefit from this service, call your student’s principal and or superintendent for the district directly. If your district is not providing this service, there are many agencies that are offering help. Here are just a few, that you can contact to check availability:

                  Project Bread's FoodSource                                 Food for Free

Additionally, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is also working with the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) and districts to implement “Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer,” or P-EBT. P-EBT is a provision from the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020. P-EBT allows states to issue benefits to families with children who would be receiving free or reduced-price school meals if schools were not closed right now. Once DESE has the required information they need, new benefits will be added to EBT cards for students whose families already have EBT cards, and an EBT card will be mailed to eligible households that do not already have one. If your family is experiencing financial hardships due to COVID-19, you should reach out to your district to see if your student would currently qualify for free or reduced-price school meals so that they will receive this benefit.

 EXPECTATIONS:

Each parent/guardian should know that their student will have some gaps in their learning due to this closure. DESE and the school districts have been placed in an impossible situation and are providing solutions that seem to be the best options for the health and safety of all interested parties. When your student does resume ‘normal’ schooling, there should be some type of competency testing to gauge where your student’s gaps are and what supports they need to close the gap so that they are performing on grade level. There is no requirement that districts do this testing, this is just our opinion and we would strongly encourage parents/guardians to ask for this if it is not offered.

In the meanwhile, try to provide your student with a consistent schedule that focuses on their successes. There are many resources out there to help supports the ‘home school’ atmosphere such as PBS Learning Media, which offers educational materials on key academic subjects for all grades from Pre-K to 12.

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
ellen@emcurranlegal.com