Parents Want Schools To Make Up The Special Education Their Kids Lost In The Pandemic

Consider This from NPR

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🗓️ 16 June 2021

⏱️ 10 minutes

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Summary

Remote learning simply didn't work for many children with disabilities. Without the usual access to educators, therapists and in-person aides, the families of these children, and many like them, say they watched their children slide backward, losing academic, social and physical skills.

Now they're demanding help, arguing to judges, state departments of education and even to the U.S. Department of Education that schools are legally required to do better by their students with disabilities.

NPR education correspondent Cory Turner and reporter Rebecca Klein have spent months reporting on complaints filed across the country from families who say schools need to act now to make up for the vital services kids missed.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The struggle has been real for any parents or caregivers whose children have taken online
0:05.9	classes during the pandemic.
0:08.0	For parents of kids with disabilities, a lot of them say it was basically impossible.
0:13.3	In general, it was probably a three minute attention span.
0:16.0	NPR spoke to people all over the country, who described what this past year was like,
0:23.5	she would put me in like a headlock and grab me by my hair.
0:26.9	Without the special education services, their kids need to learn.
0:31.6	We would maybe make it through the first two classes and then the meltdowns would start.
0:36.0	One time she broke the computer, you know, this is like every day.
0:39.6	And I couldn't get the teachers to focus on her, it was all...
0:44.2	It's just not any him to be on the computer.
0:47.6	It was just infuriating.
0:49.6	So frustrated.
0:50.6	It takes him so much more work to make every little accomplishment.
0:56.6	That was the last time that I tried the force in the due school.
0:59.3	I'm sorry.
1:00.3	I just went out kids to be valued as much as others.
1:04.6	They have potential soon.
1:07.8	Consider this.
1:08.8	Many special education services, services guaranteed by federal law were put on hold during the
1:14.2	pandemic.
1:15.2	Now parents are asking schools to make up for lost time.
	...

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