Students with disabilities are among those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Supports called recovery services are available to help students who are not making expected progress in school. Every Individualized Educational Program (IEP) team should be talking about recovery services, including compensatory education, when they meet.
There might be school-wide services available like tutoring, mental health services, or other services related to a student’s IEP.
Recovery Services
Recovery services are the set of supports schools provide to students when they aren’t making expected progress.
General education recovery services are the supports schools offer to all students to help everyone recover and grow, such as afterschool homework help, extra community-building time, and more.
For students with disabilities, individualized recovery supports should be discussed by each IEP team. This may include revising a student’s IEP based on their specific academic and social-emotional needs as a result of the pandemic.
If your student is not making expected progress, compared to pre-pandemic growth, ask about individualized recovery services. You can learn more here.
Compensatory Education
Compensatory education refers to the support services a student is owed when their IEP services are not delivered to them by the district. The point of compensatory education is to remedy the lack of progress a child may have experienced as a result of missing their services.
If your student did not get the services their IEP calls for, ask about compensatory education. You can learn more here.
Resources
Washington state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Special Education Division, Family and Community Liaisons – 360-725-6075
- Scott Raub, scott.raub@k12.wa.us, TaReesa Saunders, tareesa.saunders@k12.wa.us
PAVE – 800-5-PARENT (800-572-7368)
Open Doors for Multicultural Families – 253-216-4479
Disability Rights Washington – 800-562-2702
Northwest Justice Project – 888-201-1012
Washington state Governor’s Office of the Education Ombuds – 866-297-2597
Read descriptions of the above organizations and see more resources from The Arc of King County.