Text by EMMA DONELLY-HIGGINS
Art by MEGAN ANDREWS
Taking home an iep SCHOOL CLOSURES HIT SPECIAL ED HARD
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ARAH STARTS EACH DAY AT 8 A.M. by putting on her teacher hat for an hour. She works with her elementary-aged child — who has an Individualized Education Program and requires a one-on-one aide at school — to complete the curriculum she has set for the day. They plow diligently through a series of online worksheets and activities, with Sarah — whose name, as with all of the parents mentioned in this story, has been changed to protect the identity of her child — taking note of her child’s successes. When 9 a.m. rolls around, she switches over to her professional work until 5 p.m. This is the new normal for Sarah, who has almost entirely opted her child out of Palo Alto Unified School District learning for the duration of the shelter-in-place order. For her child, learning in a group online just isn’t viable. “I don’t think that, on the screen with the teacher and 18 kids together … he’s able to learn,” Sarah says. While this specific experience may be unique to Sarah and her child, many parents of children with IEPs across the school district have also found the transition to online learning challenging, and the services provided inadequate. As one parent put it, this may be a “lost semester” for some students, who will have to pick up where they left off — or even further back before the pandemic began, if they have regressed — once the schools open again. Service cutbacks For the portion of students with IEPs who receive services such as speech and behavioral therapy at school, the beginning of Phase III of the district’s online learning plan meant attending shorter, virtual versions of these sessions. Audrey, the parent of a high schooler with an IEP, says that her child has not received any of their accommodations during this period of online learning. Audrey contacted the principal of the school many times but has yet to receive a response, she says. “I feel like if they [PAUSD and the high school] cared, they would already be … reaching out to the students with special needs … and they’re not,” Audrey says. “When you reach out to the principal, or you reach out to the case manager and you get nothing, it’s kind of like nobody really cares.” Various PAUSD and Palo Alto High School administrators declined to comment on the state of Special Education at this time. Paly Special Education teacher Christina Dias provided a written statement. “Special Ed [Education] is following
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the same requirements that General Ed [Education] is doing and we are in alignment with them,” Dias, referring to the reduced service minutes, stated in an email. Although most parents report that they are still receiving services, the reduced minutes have had an impact on some students. “It’s hard to argue because you know, they [services providers such as therapists] are not there, so they can’t provide the minutes,” says Kate, the parent of two children who have IEPs. “But it’s difficult because they’re not getting the overall support that they really do need to survive.” Digital barrier The concept of digital learning itself also poses a problem to some students with IEPs. “For Special Ed, there are different obstacles … the executive function and the occupational skills aspects are, I think, even more exposed in this situation,” Kate says. “If you’ve got motor planning issues, fine motor issues, it’s the typing that becomes
