Survey Finds Schools Failing To Offer Compensatory Services To Students In Special Ed

The majority of students with disabilities have not being offered any compensatory services, in spite of parents concerns of learning loss and regression due to Covid-19 pandemic. 

Almost five out of six parents shared that the kids experienced slower than expected progress towards their goals, due to closure of schools and remote learning. Majority of the parents were told that their children were not eligible for services disagreed and tried to overturn the decision. Only a quarter of families said they were given any information from the school for any available compensatory services. Even when the compensated services were offered, they were not individualized, appropriate or adequate to make up the learning that was lost. 

The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) ran a survey of 254 parents with children with disabilities in 36 states and 206 school districts. It was found that just 18% of these children with disabilities were served compensatory services from their school. Further, 44% of the parents did not know when the services promised to them would begin. Denise Marshall, CEO of COPAA states that it is discouraging to learn that the majority of the public school districts responsible to provide the services to children with the disabilities are ignoring or minimizing the need to provide them the individualized educational support and services, especially with the impact of Covid-19 on them.

The US Department of Education guidance mentions that the compensatory services are assured to children with disabilities due to any interruption to services during the pandemic. Furthermore, the guidance states that the individualized education program (IEP) teams can decide if services are needed.