Special Education in the Age of COVID-19

A great special education teacher, Jeanne Maxwell, shared some information with me that might be helpful for those caregivers who have children in elementary school, identified with some type of learning disabilities, usually in math or reading. So, this information is from her and from me, and we hope it is helpful. 

While the US Department of Education, states, and districts have provided some guidance, the way that special education is being implemented during this COVID-19 is pretty much literally all over the map. One thing that is agreed upon by most teachers is that there needs to be adherence as closely as possible to the Individual Education Plan (IEP). Please be aware, that there is no way to fulfill the requirements of minutes of service per day/week, but there is an expectation to continue service as much as possible according to the IEP.

Before families begin to think about what to do to move a student forward, beyond review and practice, a caregiver should contact both the student’s general education teacher and the special education teacher. Usually, the SPED teacher and the general education teacher share responsibility for communicating with the parent and ensuring that the child has access to the general education curriculum. 

In Ms. Maxwell’s school, teachers send out packets with information and suggestions about what to do with the focus on “what does the student need most.” If necessary Ms. Maxwell suggests that parents set up Zoom meetings or phone conversations to clarify. The big questions that parents ask are “Where is my child in instruction. What can I do at home to help.” The teacher should know exactly where the child is in a particular subject and what work needs to be done and what order that it should be done. This knowledge for the parent is foundational in helping the student. If the family does not get the expected response, a parent should not hesitate to call the principal. Many times the principal can be helpful because they know how the system works and can problem solve. Teachers can also set up a time over Zoom or other platform to coach the parents or to provide instruction on a particularly difficult strategy to the student.

With that being said, once a parent has consulted with the special education teacher and there is a meeting of the minds as to what needs to be done, it is time to think about how this can be accomplished, beyond review and practice, for the student to move ahead.  Remember, it is ultimately the teacher’s responsibility for teaching. The teacher needs to guide the decisions and the instruction. Also, keep in mind that It is often uniquely stressful for a caregiver to attempt to instruct even students without disabilities. Trying to be the teacher, especially a teacher to a student with disabilities, can be taxing on a relationship, a relationship that needs protection. 

If you are not a teacher and/or do not have the temperament to teach your elementary student, there are many well-designed software programs that can actually provide instruction, thus allowing the parent to be the facilitator of instruction and monitor instruction instead of teaching. These programs have built in placement tests, ensuring that the student is beginning work at the correct spot, and then breaking down a lesson into manageable components, thus ensuring that the student is progressing. The parent will need to supervise instruction, but let the program do the teaching. Most programs are interactive and requires parental oversight, But supervision, using these software methods, is much easier than attempting to teach without the necessary resources and not knowing what to teach or how to teach, especially to a population, requiring a level of expert knowledge. Frequent check-ins with the special education teacher are of utmost importance.

Please, remember, I am speaking to an audience who might have a student with learning disabilities, and not to an audience whose child may have other complicating factors, requiring a much more personalized and individualized program (e.g, behavioral disorders, autism, etc).  I am going to provide a list below of just a few of the programs and the focus of the program. THESE ARE NOT RECOMMENDATIONS.I cannot recommend anything without a thorough work-up of a child. You will need to explore and determine what might work for your student. In addition, check out your district's websites, and your special education teacher should have multiple on-line resources that have been purchased by your district. 

Headsprout = Reading at the decoding level

Raz-kids = Reading fluency

Get Epic = Audible access to multiple books and fluency 

Khan Academy = Multiple subjects at grade level, including grade level math

Prodigy Math = Math at varying grade levels.

I invite comments, suggestions, ideas.

If you have questions that I might be able to answer generally, please email me. Please keep in mind that this blog is for suggestions that may or may not work. Here is the disclaimer, professional advice requires much more in-depth information and contact and is beyond the scope of this blog.  email: gail.coulter@outlook.com