How Houston-area school districts are handling special education amid COVID-19 pandemic
HOUSTON - Parents with children in special education have to weigh many factors when deciding if their students should go back to in-person learning during the pandemic.
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Fort Bend Independent School District is only offering online learning to its general student population. However, about 10 percent of its students in special education will be returning to campus on Monday. Each campus will have seven to 15 students.
"We do feel like it's a manageable number for us to initially jump in," said Dr. Deena Hill, Fort Bend ISD Executive Director of Student Support Services.
Hill says the schools assessed which students would benefit most from in-person learning and worked with their parents to make a decision.
If parents opt for virtual learning, they are provided with the tools needed.
"Some students have certain assistive technology equipment that they need to use to help," she added.
Kendall Leanos' daughter, Jette-Marie, is a student in special education in Klein ISD.
"As her mother, I do flashcards, I try to do things to make it a game and make it fun," Leanos told FOX 26. "I'm never going to replace her teacher and that school curriculum."
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Leanos daughter will be back for in-person learning at Klein ISD next month. It is one of the school districts giving parents the option of online or on campus.
For Leanos either option is tough but she worries her daughter will regress.
"Especially children with special needs, they are very much a routine. Home is home. School is school, and its very hard to kind of cross the two," she explained.
Marifi Escobar's son, Andres, will start 7th grade in Houston ISD. She says the school district did not give her the option of online or in-person. However, she would have picked for her son to stay home anyway even after a bumpy start in spring.
"At first being in a group setting on a virtual setting, it was not appropriate for him so I reached back out to the district," Escobar explained.
She feels she is the one having to initiate communication with the school about her son's needs and special education has taken a back seat.
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"It's important that people understand that a student in special education is a general education student first," Escobar said firmly.
Dr. Anthony Mays with the Harris County Department of Education says their Schools Division works with special education students from more than 26 districts and charter schools. They have to implement whatever the district decides whether that's online, in-person, or a combination of the two.
"We're seeing a lot more of the parents want the virtual option," Mays pointed out.
He says they are following guidelines set by the Texas Education Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).