Recommendations to Begin in April 2021 - Exact Date to be Determined by the D41 Board of Education
March 22, 2021
To Parent(s)/Guardian(s) or Students with IEPs/504 Plans:
As the D41 Board of Education considers plans to transition to a full in-person instructional model while retaining a full remote instructional option at the BOE Meeting this evening, we continue to commit to our D41 Inclusionary Principles. To assist you in determining what is right for your student(s), I want to share the following details with you regarding students with IEPs and 504 plans:
Full In-Person Services - Students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and 504 plans will receive services and supports per each student’s IEP or 504 plan. For each student, the IRLP will also remain active in the event there is a need for an adaptive pause or your student is quarantined anytime during the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year. Please note:
2. Special education and related services will be “pushed-in” to the classroom as appropriate, and provided in a “pull-out” model per each student’s IEP.
- This means that services will be scheduled to minimize disruption to core instruction;
- However, services will not be scheduled in lieu of other general education instruction such as art, music, physical education or FLES.
- Keep in mind that even if your student currently has a remote session solely with a special education teacher or related service provider, this 1:1 service may not be required in the IEP or be necessary for your student to make progress.
- Therefore, your student may now have other students in a pull-out group which allows for appropriate (and much needed) peer interaction, modeling, and implementation of goals and objectives that were limited by the innate nature of remote learning.
3. Special education teachers plan with your student’s general education teachers to prioritize your student’s needs during core instruction and limit pulling a student out for specialized instruction (if appropriate per the student’s IEP) during the independent practice or other small group instructional time period of a core subject in which the student requires specialized instruction. Special education and general education teachers are accustomed to adjusting instruction to meet student’s needs who may leave the classroom for this or other (non-special education) reasons. Adjustments may include:
- The special education teacher re-teaches or checks for understanding with the student.
- The general education teacher requires less independent practice or a different outcome from a student, if appropriate, per the student’s IEP.
- The related service provider practices the use of a tool or accommodation with the student to use during pull-out sessions and generalize use of the same tool back in the classroom.
4. As we transition to this model, every student’s individual needs are important to our D41 team members. The expectation is that special education and related services will be provided for students in-person upon your student’s first day of full in-person. Please expect to know your student’s schedule changes prior to the first day; but understand there will be additional possible changes to the schedule while special education teachers and related service professionals are adjusting their schedules to meet the needs of all students with IEPs and 504 plans including those students who remain in a full remote instructional model.
5. Likewise, schedules for paraprofessionals will be adjusted according to student need during this transition to meet the needs of all students with adult support who attend school fully in-person as well as those who remain fully remote.
6. Your student’s case manager is responsible to share schedule changes with you as they occur for your student. These schedule changes will not require an IEP or a 504 meeting, an amendment or parental consent as they will be only in regards to (not an exhaustive list of schedule change possibilities):
- A change in the day and/or time as well as the service now being delivered in-person during which the services are provided due to the transition for a student from remote or hybrid instruction to full in-person learning
- A change in the day/and or time of a current (hybrid) in-person service for a student who will now be fully in-person;
- A change in the day/and or schedule of a current remote service for a student remaining fully remote may impact the need to change the schedule of a service for a student now fully in-person
- Or, possibly a change in the special education teacher or related service provider or in the paraprofessional providing services or supports for your student due to the transition from the hybrid to the fully in-person or fully remote instructional model.
7. If your student requires a change to the services provided according to his/her IEP or 504 plan, the IEP/504 team will follow proper procedures for making the changes to the student’s IEP by either convening an IEP team meeting or obtaining parental consent to make changes to the IEP (through the amendment process) without convening a meeting. Actual changes to the IEP include, but are not limited to:
- A change in whether the service is provided within or outside of the general education classroom.
- A change in whether a special education or related service is increased or reduced.
- A change in the student’s goal(s) and/or objective(s).
- A change in the student’s accommodations and/or modifications, including assessment accommodations (this example is relevant to an IEP or a 504 plan)
8. All efforts will be made to maintain your student’s current special education teacher(s) and related service provider(s); however, as we make this transition, we cannot guarantee this is possible for every student. In the event your student's special education teacher(s) or related service provider(s) will change, your student’s case manager or assistant principal will notify you; however, this change does not require an IEP/504 meeting.
9. If you believe your student needs an IEP meeting to consider the services or changes in the services, goals and objectives, the accommodations, the student’s health care plan or any other supports and services being provided through the IEP, you may request an IEP meeting at any time. Please contact your student’s case manager (special education teacher or speech language pathologist) or assistant principal with this request.
10. If you believe your student needs a 504 meeting to consider any changes in accommodations, including changes in health care accommodations, that will be provided in-person in the general education setting during full in-person instruction, please contact your student’s case manager (school psychologist, school nurse, assistant principal or principal) to request a 504 meeting at any time.
Full Remote Services - Students who remain in a full remote instructional model will continue to receive all supports and services as per the student’s Individual Remote Learning Plan (IRLP) remotely. Please also note that:
1. Your student’s IEP or 504 plan is still the controlling document even though the student’s instruction as well as services per the IRLP written in conjunction with the IEP/504 plan are being provided completely remotely at this time. If you believe your student needs an IEP or 504 plan meeting to consider the services or changes in the services, the accommodations, the student’s health care plan or any other supports and services being provided through the IEP, 504 plan or the IRLP, you may request an IEP/504 meeting at any time. Please contact your student’s case manager (special education teacher or related service provider for an IEP or school psychologist, school nurse, assistant principal or principal for a 504 plan) or the assistant principal with this request.
2. Although having your student continue to remain in a remote instructional model may be challenging, we care about your student and look forward to engaging in collaborative problem solving with you on behalf of your student. We will embrace the day when we welcome your student back in full-person for instruction as well as for specialized supports or services. With this in mind, the D41 administration will be making the following additional recommendations to the Board of Education at the meeting tonight:
- Students with IEPs who opt for full remote learning will be able to come to the school to receive their related services in-person by parent request (deadline for request to be determined before the date of the new instructional models) through the end of the 2020-2021 School Year.
- If your student will be learning in the remote instructional model, you will be contacted to opt for in-person related services already indicated on your student’s IEP.
- The related service individual or group therapy session will be scheduled for day(s) and time(s) as determined by the related service provider with the assistant principal. This schedule will be shared with you prior to the first day of full in-person and full remote instructional model (transition from the blended instructional learning model).
- Related service schedules may need to change from time to time as new students are added to the related service caseloads or based on the professional discretion of the related service provider and building administration; however, related service schedules cannot be changed due to parent/guardian request.
- Parents are responsible for transportation for students who are in the full remote instructional model; and we ask parents to understand that core instruction may be missed depending on the in-person related service schedule as core instruction cannot be adjusted for related services because the impact on instruction is too great.
As per our Glen Ellyn D41 Inclusionary Principles, we strive to build a culture that creates a sense of belonging for all diverse learners, respects every student’s strengths and needs, and assures shared ownership by every educator for each student in our community. I want you to know that I empathize with the difficult challenges brought on by the COVID 19 pandemic for each student. I hear your frustration(s) as well as your celebration(s) as you have witnessed highs and lows for your student during this past year. My hope for each student is that we continue to presume competence and look to how we can, together, continue the journey of embracing our foundation that includes every student with his/her unique attributes and sees each student as a beautiful person and competent learner.
Our D41 student services teams and I value your student and will continue to facilitate academic as well as social emotional growth taking into consideration these recent unique circumstances. We look forward to engaging in collaborative problem solving with you regarding the current strengths and challenges for your student. This commitment as a community will result in a successful, healthy, safe, and rigorous learning experience for your student’s future.
Truly,
Laurel E. O’Brien
Director of Student Services
Glen Ellyn District 41
GLEN ELLYN SCHOOL DISTRICT 41
Email: webmaster@d41.org
Website: www.d41.org
Location: 793 North Main Street, Glen Ellyn, IL, USA
Phone: 630.790.6400
Facebook: facebook.com/glenellynd41
Twitter: @glenellynd41