NOTE: THIS GUIDANCE HAS BEEN REPLACED WITH A CLEAR STATEMENT THAT STUDENT’S RIGHT TO FAPE CONTINUES DURING COVID CLOSURES. YOU CAN READ THAT HERE.
Yesterday, the United States Department of Education issued a guidance document addressing questions about providing services to students with disabilities during the Coronavirus Disease Outbreak.
You can read the entire document here, and relevant information about services during school closures is provided below:
Special Education Law does not directly address situations where schools are closed because of exceptional circumstances, such as an outbreak of a particular disease.
The Department takes the position that if general education students are not provided services during a school closure, there is no obligation to provide services to students with IEPs and 504s.
If a public school offers educational opportunities to general education students during the school closures, the school must offer equal opportunities to students with disabilities, including the provision of FAPE.
In addition to information about school closures, the document also addresses questions about early intervention, students who contract COVID-19, and services to students whose health risk requires them to miss school during the outbreak.
Wong & Boscarine will remain open during these current and expected school closures.