Taking home an IEP

Text by EMMA DONELLY-HIGGINS Art by MEGAN ANDREWS Taking home an iep

SCHOOL CLOSURES HIT SPECIAL ED HARD S ARAH STARTS EACH DAY AT 8 A.M. by putting on the same requirements that General Ed [Education] is doing and her teacher hat for an hour. She works with her elemenwe are in alignment with them,” Dias, referring to the reduced tary-aged child — who has an Individualized Education service minutes, stated in an email. Program and requires a one-on-one aide at school — to Although most parents report that they are still receiving sercomplete the curriculum she has set for the day. They plow dilvices, the reduced minutes have had an impact on some students. igently through a series of online worksheets and activities, with “It’s hard to argue because you know, they [services providers Sarah — whose name, as with all of the parents mentioned in this such as therapists] are not there, so they can’t provide the minutes,” story, has been changed to protect the identity of her child — taksays Kate, the parent of two children who have IEPs. “But it’s diffiing note of her child’s successes. cult because they’re not getting the overall support that they really

When 9 a.m. rolls around, she switches over to her profesdo need to survive.” sional 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 Digital barrier District learning for the duration of the shelter-in-place order. For The concept of digital learning itself also poses a problem to her child, learning in a group online just isn’t viable. some students with IEPs.

“I don’t think that, on the screen with the teacher and 18 kids “For Special Ed, there are different obstatogether … he’s able to learn,” Sarah says. cles … the executive function and the oc

While this specific experience may be unique to Sarah and her cupational skills aspects are, I think, even child, many parents of children with IEPs across the school district more exposed in this situation,” Kate says. have also found the transition to online learning challenging, and “If you’ve got motor planning issues, fine the services provided inadequate. As one parent put it, this may motor issues, it’s the typing that becomes 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

the barrier to doing your assignment.” “I think right now we’re just trying to maintain where we were

Eva is the parent of a middle schooler who has an IEP and in March without too much regression,” Kate says. who participates in the FUTURES Program, an alternative pathAccording to Dias, regression is not a particular concern for way for some students in Special Education. students in Special Education.

The program accounts for students with a wide range of disabilities. However, with such a diverse group of students, Eva says, Missing teacher’s aides the video assignments do not work for everyone. “He [Audrey’s child] is expected to do everything that all the

“For some kids it’s just completely irrelevant,” she says. “I other students are expected to do. There’s nothing different because know several parents of kids like my son whose kids are maybe less he’s in Special Ed [Education],” Audrey says. “So usually he has able to sit opposite to a computer — they’re just not bothering.”

The Community Advisory Committee for Special Education in Palo Alto recognizes that individual instruction is essential to the educational opportunities of some students in “ We’re trying to just kind of keep it together without too many accommodations for different things, as well as the support [Special Education] class, in which the teacher would help him and the aide would help him with all of his assignments, and that’s all gone.”

The CAC has been attending weekly meetings with PAUSD his familiar aides who know his IEP goals [and] have worked with Special Education directors and communicating with members of him on his IEP goals.” Palo Alto’s Parent Teacher Association. They have also sent out According to Dias, aides are available at the request of stusurveys and additional resources to dents and parents, and continue to work under the supervision of the families of students in teachers. Special Education. After parents voiced their concerns about the limits on the

“For the most part, services that aides can provide at the May 12 Board of Education there seems to be contact meeting, Superintendent Don Austin said that the district would and support for our Secbe waiving some of these barriers. ondary FUTURES kids. “Our CSEA [California School Employees Association] assoThis two-way communiciation is not asking for less to do; they’re asking for the opposite,” cation builds trust and enAustin says. “They’re asking to be invited to all meetings, to pargagement during times of ticipate, to be those resources … [it’s] definitely part of our plan.” crisis, and identifies student At the same meeting, Board Member Melissa Baten Caswell baseline and family capacity noted that online summer school could be an opportunity to put for distance learning,” Eng into place some of these changes. Lee stated. “It’s some additional adults who know how to work with kids with special needs,” Baten Caswell says. “How can we use them in Regression a way that maybe helps us be more productive with these kids?”

The regression of students’ academic and social skills is of conParent perspective cern to some parents with children For working parents like Sarah, teaching a child with high who have IEPs. Although Eva someneeds while also working for eight hours a day can be stressful. times feels like giving up on formal “It sounds nice that I don’t need to commute [to work] anylearning for the rest of the semester, she more, but my commute hour’s now filled with the one hour teachknows that it is too much of a risk to take. ing for my son, so my brain has no moment to take a break,” she

“With kids like my son, it is often two says. “Now I just don’t have the energy to do anything else.” steps forward, one step back,” Eva says. “So Around the world, people are taking up all sorts of new hobwhen you’ve made those strides forward, it’s bies to pass the time at home, but this is not always true for parents very hard to just let it go and say we’ll catch up who have to dedicate most of their time and energy to supporting in the fall because you may regress so much that … the their children with their learning. six months of work that he’s lost may take you two years “I am not bored and I’m not getting anything done. I’m not to get back.” learning a language. I’m not baking bread … I’m not gardening,”

Kate also worries about regression in her children, esKate says. “We’re trying to just kind of keep it together without too pecially in social skills. many extreme things happening.” v

Teacher’s aides can play critical roles in Special Education. “In this unprecedented time when it is extreme things hapthe educational careers of students with IEPs. Since online learning began, however, aides difficult for almost every family, there are defipening.” have been unable to talk one-on-one with nitely unique vulnerabilities for many of our — KATE, parent students because they do not have the same Special Education students in terms of regrescredentials as teachers. sion and trauma,” CAC District Advisory Co-Chair Kimberly Eng “I think it’s such … a wasted resource for some of their chilLee stated in an email. dren,” Eva says. “And I think my son could benefit from some of