Short THREAD on the silent crisis happening right now for students with disabilities, and what Congress needs to do:
1/ Start by reading this. Students w disabilities are the most affected by school closures. Many cannot learn from home.
google.com/amp/s/ctmirror…
1/ Start by reading this. Students w disabilities are the most affected by school closures. Many cannot learn from home.
google.com/amp/s/ctmirror…
2/ Schools and parents don’t know what to do bc there has been little guidance from Sec. DeVos or Congress. Many schools are providing no extra services to disabled kids at home, and aren’t making plans to catch up when school reopens.
This makes the crisis worse.
This makes the crisis worse.
3/ I spent all weekend coming up w a bipartisan proposal to answer the big questions. My friend @BillCassidy, Republican Senator from Louisiana, and I unveiled it last night. Here is what we proposed. google.com/amp/s/www.wash…
4/ First, we believe DeVos should not waive any basic protections or rights for students w disabilities. There is a push for her to do this by some school districts that have never liked the federal mandates to teach kids w disabilities.
5/ Second, we DO believe that states need some flexibility on timelines and reporting. Obviously it will take time to catch up on services and learning for disabled students that have Individualized Education Plans. DOE should allow this kind of limited flexibility.
6/ Lastly and most importantly, we propose that the next COVID relief package include major emergency funding for special education. This will allow schools be begin working w families to make plans to catch these kids up on the learning and services they have missed.
