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By Teresa Anderson, Public Policy Director, The Arc/UCP California Collaboration
As the academic school year nears end, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) reminds parents and caregivers of students with disabilities that extra services can be requested if your student did not
make progress or lost skills because they did not receive the support they needed during distance learning. Public schools received extra funding to help students with disabilities recover from learning loss related to distance learning. To get these additional services parents or caregivers of students must ask for these services in writing. However, DREDF stresses the fact that time matters because the funding is only available for a short time, and there are steps parents need to take so the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team can check if the student qualifies for extra services before the time limit expires.
If you believe your child needs additional support, you can send a written request for compensatory education to the school. You can reach out to your Parent Training and Information Center if you need help understanding the process or writing the request.
Here is a link to a sample letter you can start with but be sure to include information about your child’s individual situation, and examples of why your child needs additional support to help the school understand the reason for your request: