. @washingtonpost: “Parents across the country who have students w/ special ed needs say the stakes are high if schools do not reopen...children are not just falling behind academically...but missing developmental milestones & losing key skills necessary for an independent life.”

Antwon Gibson’s high school "didn't even attempt to teach his ‘independent living’ class virtually this spring. The gregarious 18-year-old has an intellectual disability and reads and performs math below grade level. He’s been out of the classroom since schools closed in March…”

Gibson said that “When school went virtual, it was hard to learn online—I had never done that before…I’m mad because I want to go to school. And I am hearing different days of when we go back to school. I miss my teachers, and I miss my friends.”

“Ayo Heinegg’s son, a rising sixth-grader in the District with dyslexia and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, is typically a high-performing student. But he struggled to keep up with his coursework on multiple online platforms and lost his confidence in the classroom.”

Some parents described virtual sessions as so ineffective that they just skipped them. Heinegg said for her son “It was extremely damaging to his self-esteem...I have spent years and lots of energy making sure he loves learning, and that was destroyed. How do you undo that?”

“And in Loudoun County, 8-year-old Theo Duran, who is autistic, struggles more to walk up the stairs or hold a crayon to write—all tasks he was making progress on before the coronavirus pandemic hit and shut down his school.”

Ethan, a special ed student born w/ polymicrogyria has missed months of physical therapy and “has been angrier and more physically aggressive.” His mother said that “if the computer isn’t playing Sesame Street he slams the laptop down…It’s been frustrating and a waste of time.”

“In the conversations about whether to reopen school buildings—or even how to shape virtual learning—parents of special education students fear that the unique needs of their children are not being urgently considered.”

“Their children are often in self-contained classrooms with just six students, and the parents believe there are ways to safely educate them offline, even if the entire student population isn’t ready to go back.”

President @realDonaldTrump and I stand with these parents. They deserve in-person education options for their students. If their district school refuses to reopen, families should get the money for their child’s education and use it to find the right fit. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/special-education-students-are-not-just-falling-behind--theyre-losing-key-skills-parents-say/2020/08/05/ec1b91ca-cffd-11ea-9038-af089b63ac21_story.html