Special Education Services
April 1, 2020
Services to Special Education Students
Good Evening,
First and foremost, Cecil County Public Schools Special Education hopes you and your family are safe and well. We appreciate your support and patience during this unprecedented time. School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic have posed some very unique challenges for the delivery of special education services in Cecil County Public Schools and schools across the country for students Birth-21. The global pandemic has drastically impacted how all students are accessing their education.
Per the guidance from United States Department of Education (USDOE), if CCPS provides educational opportunities to the general student population during a school closure, CCPS must ensure that students with disabilities also have equal access to the same opportunities. In addition, CCPS must ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, each student with a disability can be provided the special education and related services identified in the student’s IEP. The USDE understands there may be exceptional circumstances that could affect how services are provided. Similar to the general education students access to instruction, in many cases, CCPS will not be able to replicate the services currently identified in your child’s IEP. Our goal is to be able to provide access and reasonable support to students with disabilities
Below is the timeline for how the Cecil County Public Schools Special Education Department has prepared for instruction to occur for students with disabilities.
March 13-27
School Closure
The Special Education Department:
- Created activities, lessons, and resources specifically for students with disabilities for parents and teachers to access on the Home Connection
- Participated in virtual webinars and meetings with the USDOE and Maryland Department of Education to obtain up to date guidance in light of the COVID-19 Circumstances
- Packets of materials tailored to students with disabilities were delivered
March 30-April 9
- Parents are accessing Home Connection activities, lessons and resources to support their child
- General education teachers and special education teachers are providing support to parents to assist in accessing the Home Connection and answer questions during the designated office hours.
- Special Education teachers are reaching out to parents via email
- Between April1 and April 13, the Building Coordinator or Case Manager will contact families to collaborate in determining the supports and services that will be provided to their child virtually,
- Our goal is to be able to provide access and reasonable support to students with disabilities
- Once the servicer hours are agreed upon, the special education teacher and related service provider will contact parents to coordinate service times and dates.
- Related Services Providers may offer Tele therapy. Once fully explained by the related service, tele therapy will occur only with parental consent
- Special education teachers will maintain communication with families
- Building Coordinators will begin to reschedule IEP meetings
- Direct services (method to be determined) will focus on providing more individualized specially designed instruction from our special educators and related service providers.
- IEP meetings will begin to be rescheduled and will be held virtually
CCPS will continue to update the information as new guidance is obtained. This is nothing like we have ever done before. We are certain we will encounter challenges as we move forward. Our goal is to support our students with disabilities to the best of our abilities during these circumstances We truly appreciate your patience as we navigate these unchartered waters.
Ms. Farr has a state meeting with leadership tomorrow, April 2nd, and this document will be updated relative to what she has learned.
If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Farr at sjfarr@ccps.org.
We hope that you and your families are safe and well.
Sincerely,
Dr. Teigland
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Carolyn J. Teigland, Ed.D.
Associate Superintendent for Education Services
Cecil County Public Schools
CCPS Public Information Office
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