Seattle Special Education PTSA Asks for Virtual Option For Grades 6 to 12

 The Seattle Special Education has sent a letter to the district about lack of services.

Students with IEPs in Grades 6-12 who are not able to attend in-person school need your immediate help. The situation is urgent.

We have heard from parents who have met with representatives from the Special Education Department and were told that as far as they are aware, only two of the online options suggested by the District -- both run by the same for-profit corporation -- provide “related services,” i.e., services required under a student’s IEP. Staff would not confirm that these two programs are required to accept student transfers. Some families have spent hours on hold waiting to talk to someone at these online options about enrolling their student and have been unable to obtain the information needed to make an informed decision. Staff response was that if they were unable to enroll their student on time, the student was welcome to attend in-person school here in Seattle. Similarly, when asked what would happen if their student was asked to leave one of the suggested online programs, the response from staff was that the student would be welcome to attend in-person school in Seattle.

Several members of our PTSA Board of Directors listened to the School Board meeting last week. We heard promises that staff were meeting with and helping the families of each student in grades 6-12 who had applied for the virtual program to sign up for another program. Is this what SPS calls help?

Our PTSA continues to call out the disconnect between what the School Board is told and what families actually experience. This is a prime example of that disconnect. Some of these students have complex needs and IEPs with detailed services designed to meet those needs. As you recognized when you announced the virtual option, there are students who, for medical and other reasons, cannot attend in-person school yet. SPS has a legal and moral responsibility to follow the IEPs of all students who receive special education services and meet their needs.

SPS needs to reinstate the virtual option for grades 6-12 without delay.


Respectfully,


Janis White, President


Seattle Special Education PTSA


Please visit us/por favor visítanos: https://seattlespecialeducationptsa.org/

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