/2020/nl.0526.txt IEP Meetings, Compensatory Education, Collecting Data: Answers to Your Questions about Special Education in the COVID-19 Era (May 27, 2020) You are learning new ways to manage your child's special education in the COVID-19 Era. You also have so many questions. In this issue of The Special Ed Advocate, we wanted to share information from a recent webinar (May 11) and a podcast (May 26). Because most children with disabilities are not receiving the instruction and services in their IEPs, they are likely to need compensatory education services. Compensatory education ("comp ed") are educational services a child with a disability needs to make up for skills or learning that were lost when schools were closed during the pandemic. Your school district is responsible for providing compensatory services. Comp ed is a very hot topic. We answered questions about many subjects, including compensatory education, in the webinar and podcast. To prepare for these events, Pete wrote an article: "Compensatory Education: Evolution of Case Law." You will find a link to that article below. *********** 1.Special Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic Webinar (May 11, 2020) https://drroseann.com/special-education-during-a-pandemic/ Parents have so many questions about their children’s special education rights and needs during this time of quarantine. Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge [ https://drroseann.com/about-us/ ] knew parents didn't know where to turn for answers to their questions. She decided to hold a Town Hall style webinar and invited four special ed attorneys to answer parents' questions: The attorneys who answered parent's questions: Pete Wright Piper Paul Wayne Steedman Jack Robinson In an exciting two-hour webinar, Dr. Roseann and the special ed attorneys answered questions in several areas, including: * What is the Federal Law During the COVID-19 Quarantine? * What is Compensatory Education? * How Can Parents Advocate for their Child Right Now? * Importance of Data Points: Evaluations and Collecting Data You can access the webinar on Dr. Roseann's site at https://drroseann.com/special-education-during-a-pandemic/ **************** 2. Special Offer: 25% Off on the Wrightslaw Bundle https://www.wrightslaw.com/store/index.html The Famous Wrightslaw Bundle - Was $77.80. Now $58.35! Includes 4 Wrightslaw books: Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition, Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy, 2nd Edition, Wrightslaw: All About IEPs and Wrightslaw: All About Tests and Assessments, 2nd Edition. You'll find more great deals in the Wrightslaw Store! https://www.wrightslaw.com/store/index.html *************** 3. Let's Talk Sped Law Podcast: Can't Be Wrong When It's Wright: - Pam and Pete Wright Discuss Strategies for Parents During School Closures (May 26, 2020) Let's Talk Sped Law [ http://www.letstalkspedlaw.com ] is a national podcast dedicated to all things relating to special education law. The podcast is hosted by special education attorney, Jeffrey Forte, Esq. In a free-ranging discussion with Jeff, Pete and Pam tackled these questions: * What does the US Dept of Ed guidance on providing the special education and related services in a student’s IEP or 504 Plan “to the greatest extent possible” mean? https://sites.ed.gov/idea/idea-files/supplemental-fact-sheet-addressing-risk-covid-19-preschool-elementary-secondary-schools-serving-children-disabilities-march-21-2020/ * Should school districts be holding IEP meetings to discuss distance learning plans? * How should we determine present levels of performance for students in the fall? * What do you think school should look like in the fall? * What should parents be doing now if their child is not able to access distance learning opportunities? * What is compensatory education? http://www.letstalkspedlaw.com/892207/3923504-episode-7-can-t-be-wrong-when-it-s-wright-pam-pete-wright-discuss-strategies-for-parents-during-school-closures-in-response-to-covid-19 ************** 4. Compensatory Education: Evolution of Case Law by Pete Wright https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/comp.ed.law.htm Compensatory education is not in the law (IDEA 2004), the federal special education regulations, or in state laws and regulations. Compensatory education is a concept created and fine-tuned by the Courts as case law. To understand how the law evolved, you need to know the history of compensatory education. In addition to changes to the law by Congress, the other source o changes in special education law are created by the decisions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeal. The law about a child's entitlement to compensatory education is a direct result of three decisions by the U. S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS): Burlington in 1985, this author's Carter case in 1993, and the recent Endrew F. case in 2017. Decisions from the Courts of Appeal lcaused a major shift and are the focus of this overview about the law of compensatory education. 2. Article from blog or website 3. Download White Paper on Compensatory Education: Evolution of Caselaw