VIDEO: 5 Steps to Protecting Your Special Education Student’s Rights During COVID

1. Write down any services that your student missed.

Keep a record of academic instruction your student receives during COVID-19, and what their pre-COVID Individualized Education Program (IEP) called for. Compare what they were supposed to get to what they actually are receiving during shutdowns or remote learning. This includes keeping track of how many minutes of instruction your child receives and in what formats the instruction takes place—video lessons, phone calls, emailed worksheets, etc. Use notebooks or spreadsheets to keep the information organized.

2. Participate in whatever services are being provided.

If you later file a complaint that your child didn’t get appropriate special education services during COVID-19, but you didn’t sign up or log in to whatever services were available, you’re giving the school district an opening to argue that the problem was your lack of participation. Take any reasonable steps to participate in what the district is offering. Even if you don’t think a particular service will work in a remote format, try it first. And when it doesn’t work, write to the school via email describing what’s happening. It’s important to put it in an email so you have a written record. If you just refuse the services, that could hurt you later when you argue for resources to make up for the deficit.

3. Document your student’s unwillingness to participate.

If you can’t get your child to cooperate with online learning, document your child’s behavior. Take notes, and share what you’re seeing with the school—via email—so you have a record of you reporting the problems.

4. Participate in IEP meetings by video or phone call.

Don’t refuse to meet by Zoom, Skype, phone or other remote methods if there are school shutdowns or stay-at-home orders. If you insist on in-person meetings, you can ask for a delay to a later date. But that may not be ideal because you could encounter the school struggling with a backlog of IEP meetings and end up with an abrupt meeting wedged into their schedule. It could be better to have the meeting by video conference or phone, and get a meeting that at least takes the time to fully address your child’s need. Also be understanding if the district needs to reschedule a meeting because someone can’t attend, but ask them right away to provide a new date so the meeting doesn’t get put off too long.

5. Be careful about signing documents accepting reduced services during COVID disruptions.

You can agree to COVID-altered educational plans for your child, but make sure that anything you sign clearly states that full, pre-COVID services will return after the COVID disruption passes. Make sure the changes aren’t permanent. And be on alert for questionnaire items from the school saying you won’t seek compensatory services after school resumes normal operations. Don’t agree to that. Add your own comments to the document, if needed.