April 7, 2020
Dear Parents,
First and foremost, I want to extend my concern to all our families at this difficult time. The district knows that every family has challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many of us, this virus and the Governor’s public-school closure have turned our world upside down. Due to the closure of our school, and social distancing requirements mandated, we are unable to fully implement your child’s IEP as it is currently written. You and your child continue to have the rights regarding a free appropriate public education provided to you under federal law.
We are making a good faith effort to begin some activities for our students with disabilities. The special education teachers are working very hard to prepare enrichment and review activities for elementary student’s grades kindergarten through grade 5 by issuing weekly choice boards with modifications and suggested activities for Speech and Language, Social Emotional and Occupational Therapy.
As of April 13>span class="s9">, 2020, the district will be moving to planned instruction for grades 6-12. During the extended closure, the school district will provide special education and related services through distance instruction provided virtually, online, by pre-recorded videos, and/or other appropriate modalities. During this time, the school district will not be able to provide all services in the same manner they were typically provided. In addition, data for progress monitoring of IEP goals may not be able to be collected in the same manner it was typically collected. The IEP team will work collaboratively to monitor progress through parental/guardian communication and practices of observation and documentation remotely.
Some students will receive virtual services or other contacts from school staff on a one-on-one basis during this period of school closure. These contacts will be recorded and maintained as part of the confidential education record of the student. We will not allow access to or disclosure of any such recording in any manner inconsistent with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
No later than April 9th, 2020, your child’s special education teacher and related service providers will have reached out to you, and your child will receive the following special education instruction and related services during each full week of emergency school closure.
Please know as we are working through this situation, we will always support students in anyway possible and will work with all parents and guardians not only now, but when we return to school to make sure everyone receives the best educational experience possible
If you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s special education teacher or the Director of Special Education, Melissa Butterworth (Melissa.butterworth@beasd.net or (814) 355-5731)