What You Need to Know About Providing Special Education Services to Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Many of our schools, both private and public, are closed or are in the process of closing at this time due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The Department of Education just released guidance regarding Special Education services during the outbreak. The guidance is in the form of a Q&A and can be found on the Department of Education's website. 

In a nutshell – if schools are providing educational services to all students, they must also provide special education services and accommodations in order for the students with disabilities to have “equal access” to the same educational opportunities. IEP teams should be meeting upon schools reopening to create a plan to address missed services.  

These times we are in are novel and things are changing by the day. My recommendation to all parents of children with disabilities receiving special education services is to KNOW what services your child should be getting, TRACK what services are missed, and WORK with the school district after the COVID-19 pandemic ends to ensure that your child receives those services missed and whatever services they may need to recoup any losses they have had during this time.