It is 7:55 a.m. on a Monday, and not a cloud is on the horizon; it is another beautiful sunny California day. As Tony prepares for his first-period English class, he decides to play a quick game of Battlefront on his Xbox. Why not? It is not like I’m at school, he thinks to himself. Suddenly, Tony’s mom yells from the kitchen, ordering him to get off that game. Tony’s dreading another boring day of virtual schooling simply because he cannot keep up with the rest of his classmates.
Today, the new normal is learning to apply an effective education online for the K-12 student body in California, but there are many gaps related to students with learning disabilities. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order in July 2020, addressing five critical areas related to the pandemic pertaining to online distance learning (California Gov., 2020). Governor Newsom is also proposing billions in budget cut, further dwarfing support for public schools throughout California. Newsom also wants to defer $76 billion in K-14 funding, taking from the $81 billion he allocated in the budget he signed last year (Morrar, 2020). However, Newsome press office announced on July 2020 they enacted a budget that will provide $5.3 billion in additional funding to support learning, and set requirements to ensure schools provide rigorous and grade-appropriate instruction “Learning is non-negotiable,” said Governor Newsom (California Gov., 2020). “The virus will be with us for a year or more, and school districts must provide meaningful instruction during this pandemic. In California, determine when schools can be physically open and close – but learning should never stop. Students, staff, and parents all prefer in-classroom instruction, but only if it can be done safely” (Morrar & California Gov., 2020).
K–12 students who are on the spectrum or have ADHD and other learning challenges are not keeping up with their virtual schooling. Many parents believe a home-schooling environment does not work for special education students and some IEP teachers agree. Public schools in California, such as Creative Performance Media Arts (CPMA), a magnet middle school in San Diego, California, are depending on Google Classroom for all their students, which also includes special education students (CPMA Press Release, 2020). Unfortunately, there is no distinction between the mainstream teaching and IEP (Individualized Educational Program) in the virtual learning curriculum, which present a serious problem towards the academic developments of these special education students. Like Tony, many students will fall behind, simply because they cannot keep up with the instruction. Mary Moreno, the parent of a 13-year-old IEP student, says that online classes are not working for her daughter with ADD. “She simply can’t keep up,” stated Moreno. “Next year, my daughter will be going to high school, and I am afraid that she is not going to be equipped to keep up in high school” (Interview, 2020)
California school districts, including the Los Angeles Unified School District (L.A.U.S.D.), is the second largest in the nation. That said, L.A.U.S.D and San Diego Unified School District (S.D.U.S.D.) does not currently have a platform addressing the needs of students with learning disabilities. Over 54 percent of students with IEPs, or 2.3 million leaning-disabled students, are in the program statewide. Statistically, the learning-disabled category is the most extensively covered in special education for the California K–12 program. However, their IEP curriculum has come to abrupt stop due to COVID-19 (Ca Dept of Education, 2020).
Heather Bennett, an occupational therapist for special need students, states that the IEP issue has not been addressed or resolved entirely for the 2020–2021 for S.D.U.S.D. academic year (Interview, 2020). Many teachers who work with IEP students believe that the best method of making progress is interfacing rather than ZOOM. However, for the moment, the district will not allow face to face teaching for liability purposes (Johnson, 2020). Also, incoming students in all grade levels will not be adequately tested because such testing is not available online to make assessment with potential IEP students. Consequently, many students will be participating in an academic environment without accurately being diagnosed with a learning disability. A third of California’s IEP students receive developmental support and screening and are below the average rate for disabled students attending regular classrooms (CA Dept of Education, 2020). Much of this problem stems from a shortage of special education teachers; general education teachers feel that they are not prepared to serve unique student needs during normal circumstances. With the online platform, most teachers, both mainstream and special education, will struggle with their IEP students as they endeavor to tackle these academic roadblocks (CA Dept of Education & Johnson, 2020).
One in eight K–12 students receive an IEP, but California has always fallen short of serving these students effectively (CA Dept of Education, 2020). Funding has not kept up with district costs, dedicated to IEP resources, according to the Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE, 2020). Now, with virtual schooling, IEP students will fall even further behind and perhaps regress and further behind, without the support of their IEP instruction. According to The Washington Post, in addition to losing out on current teaching, many parents are concerned that their children will regress and lose the skill sets they have already acquired (Howerton, 2020).
The battleground to overcome learning disabilities will be taking place at the student’s home with little to no support from the states and school. The immediate crisis is the pandemic, but how will we measure the life skills and setbacks for these children with special education needs? Perhaps, the answer is as simple as individualizing these virtual settings.
References
Arnold, L. (2016, February 21). Collecting Attorney… Retrieved from https://www.californiaspecialedlaw.com/important-case-decisions/collecting-attorney-fees/
California Govener Newsom. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.gov.ca.gov/
Distance Learning – Curriculum and Instruction Resources (CA Dept of Education). (n.d.-a). Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/dl/index.asp
Distance Learning – Curriculum and Instruction Resources (CA Dept of Education). (n.d.-b). Retrieved September 22, 2020, from https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/dl/index.asp
Interview with Mary Moreno (IEP Parent). (2020, September). Retrieved from https://Wikipedia.com
Johnson, S. (2020, June 26). California schools must provide daily live interaction, access to technology this fall. Retrieved September 22, 2020, from https://edsource.org/2020/california-schools-must-provide-daily-live-interaction-access-to-technology-this-fall/634452
Phone Interview. (2020, September). Interview with Heather Bennet. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interview
Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) | Policy Analysis for California Education. (2020, September 10). Retrieved September 22, 2020, from https://edpolicyinca.org/
Report: Special education in California an “urgent priority.” (2020, February 18). Retrieved September 22, 2020, from https://www.educationdive.com/news/report-special-education-in-california-an-urgent-priority/572410/
Sacramento Bee (Daily News). (2020, May 15). California schools to lose billions of dollars in Newsom’s budget. It could have been worse. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/education/article242743796.html
Team, T. U. (2020, April 17). What Is an IEP? Retrieved September 22, 2020, from https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/ieps/what-is-an-iep
The Washington Post. (2020, August 20). This is our season of coaching our children through disappointment. Retrieved September 22, 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.washingtonpost.com%2flifestyle%2f2020%2f08%2f20%2fthis-is-our-season-coaching-our-children-through-disappointment%2f
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