Call to Action: Help create a safe learning environment for medically fragile students

[Anonymous]

What did such medically fragile students do before COVID?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What did such medically fragile students do before COVID?

As the parent of a very medically fragile child before COVID, I can tell you that we dealt with an Interim Instructional Service program that didn't work at all. We had new teachers all the time. The teachers came a few hours a week with no access to the gen ed curriculum, and they changed all the time. Each new teacher had to then be reintroduced to my kid and his specific needs.

The program also had a great deal of difficulty understanding the fact that my medically fragile kid was in fact medically fragile, and that things like visits with specialists who scheduled months in advance took precedence over IIS sessions. I had someone complain when I said we couldn't do sessions on Tuesdays because he had a weekly infusion of an experimental drug that had to be done over many hours in the hospital, that we weren't being flexible enough.

For us, homeschooling was the answer. I think that one solution here would be for MCPS to provide support for homeschooling for kids who have established medical issues that prevent school attendance. Other states have homeschooling scholarships that pay for curriculum, and online classes from providers who have worked out the kinks, and kids who receive those scholarships and qualify via an IEP are able to receive a full array of related services from itinerant providers. A similar model would make sense in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What did such medically fragile students do before COVID?

There was something called home and hospital care. If i remember correctly, there was an mcps staff member to came to deliver instruction regularly. the kids were assigned to a class at their homeschool. I used to teach first grade and had one of these students on my roster once. This was before video conferencing was an option in classrooms but if i had a child in the program again, i would attempt to set up regular interactions. i’m not sure if the program, or some variant of it, still exists. i imagine it does because as op said, the county if required to provide a free and appropriate education to children ages 6-18 (21 for some iep students).
i appreciate where you are coming from op but “free and appropriate” is a really vague requirement. i wish you and your daughter the best.

[Anonymous]

I hope you find a solution OP. I'm sorry this is happening!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate the constructive comments, both supportive and challenging to this notion. I fully understand that this is an unorthodox approach, but given the road my family, as well as others, have been on to get here, it's almost literally the only safe path forward.

Yes, it is difficulty for the school to figure this problem out.
Yes, there is a lot of leg work for us to do in order to build support within the community and with MCPS administration.

But it is demonstrable that schools are currently ill-equipped to mitigate the spread of COVID (and other airborne diseases). It is also the case that kids are affected by this disease and it's complications, including disability and death. Furthermore, there are an estimated 30% of households dealing with the complications of long-COVID which directly correlates with the rise in chronic absenteeism in MCPS.

My point is, it is actually imperative that the school begins to address this issue lest we as a county/society choose to accept the medical burden we are placing on our kids for literally their entire lives.

But more specifically to my daughter, she is guaranteed, by law, free and safe access to a full education in the least-restrictive manner possible. In-person schooling is currently NOT safe; at home IIS services currently are not a full education; virtual schooling is currently not an option (nor will it be next year). It is upon the school to ensure that access, that is what this cohort is trying to achieve.

I call BS on the bolded.

I raise you a census report:
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2023/05/long-covid-19-symptoms-reported.html

[Anonymous]

Has your daughter gotten the Covid vaccine series, including the newest Fall 2023 booster?
Have all the adults/siblings etc. around your daughter gotten up to date with their vaccines?
Have you discussed the necessity and feasibility of your daughter masking forever, or for the foreseeable future, in detail with your physicians and specialists and sought their recommendations going forward?

Somehow I have the feeling that the answers to the above questions are not all going to be a resounding "yes".

I think that lobbying for better air/HVAC always makes sense and will reduce the transmission of all respiratory illnesses, however, creating separate classrooms where everyone wants to voluntarily mask forever will be difficult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What did such medically fragile students do before COVID?

As the parent of a very medically fragile child before COVID, I can tell you that we dealt with an Interim Instructional Service program that didn't work at all. We had new teachers all the time. The teachers came a few hours a week with no access to the gen ed curriculum, and they changed all the time. Each new teacher had to then be reintroduced to my kid and his specific needs.

The program also had a great deal of difficulty understanding the fact that my medically fragile kid was in fact medically fragile, and that things like visits with specialists who scheduled months in advance took precedence over IIS sessions. I had someone complain when I said we couldn't do sessions on Tuesdays because he had a weekly infusion of an experimental drug that had to be done over many hours in the hospital, that we weren't being flexible enough.

For us, homeschooling was the answer. I think that one solution here would be for MCPS to provide support for homeschooling for kids who have established medical issues that prevent school attendance. Other states have homeschooling scholarships that pay for curriculum, and online classes from providers who have worked out the kinks, and kids who receive those scholarships and qualify via an IEP are able to receive a full array of related services from itinerant providers. A similar model would make sense in MCPS.

sounds like you needed different things than masks and ventilation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate the constructive comments, both supportive and challenging to this notion. I fully understand that this is an unorthodox approach, but given the road my family, as well as others, have been on to get here, it's almost literally the only safe path forward.

Yes, it is difficulty for the school to figure this problem out.
Yes, there is a lot of leg work for us to do in order to build support within the community and with MCPS administration.

But it is demonstrable that schools are currently ill-equipped to mitigate the spread of COVID (and other airborne diseases). It is also the case that kids are affected by this disease and it's complications, including disability and death. Furthermore, there are an estimated 30% of households dealing with the complications of long-COVID which directly correlates with the rise in chronic absenteeism in MCPS.

My point is, it is actually imperative that the school begins to address this issue lest we as a county/society choose to accept the medical burden we are placing on our kids for literally their entire lives.

But more specifically to my daughter, she is guaranteed, by law, free and safe access to a full education in the least-restrictive manner possible. In-person schooling is currently NOT safe; at home IIS services currently are not a full education; virtual schooling is currently not an option (nor will it be next year). It is upon the school to ensure that access, that is what this cohort is trying to achieve.

I’m sorry for what your child is going through but I think you are placing a highly irrational degree of faith in ventilation and masks. Respiratory illnesses and immune compromised kids existed before covid. Creating some kind of bubble classroom for them was not feasible before and is not feasible now. A child so fragile that they cannot get a respiratory virus probably needs to be homeschooled or put on the medical homecare program.

[Anonymous]

Homeschool. It's the safest/best option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What did such medically fragile students do before COVID?

As the parent of a very medically fragile child before COVID, I can tell you that we dealt with an Interim Instructional Service program that didn't work at all. We had new teachers all the time. The teachers came a few hours a week with no access to the gen ed curriculum, and they changed all the time. Each new teacher had to then be reintroduced to my kid and his specific needs.

The program also had a great deal of difficulty understanding the fact that my medically fragile kid was in fact medically fragile, and that things like visits with specialists who scheduled months in advance took precedence over IIS sessions. I had someone complain when I said we couldn't do sessions on Tuesdays because he had a weekly infusion of an experimental drug that had to be done over many hours in the hospital, that we weren't being flexible enough.

For us, homeschooling was the answer. I think that one solution here would be for MCPS to provide support for homeschooling for kids who have established medical issues that prevent school attendance. Other states have homeschooling scholarships that pay for curriculum, and online classes from providers who have worked out the kinks, and kids who receive those scholarships and qualify via an IEP are able to receive a full array of related services from itinerant providers. A similar model would make sense in MCPS.

sounds like you needed different things than masks and ventilation.

PP asked what medically fragile kids did before the pandemic. If I had to guess, their goal was to say that we should just go back to that. But the answer to that question is that MCPS failed medically fragile kids before the pandemic.

My kid died during (not from) the pandemic, so I can't provide any information about what would have happened after. I like to think that Virtual Academy would have been a better option than what we offerred. It's sad to think it's going away altogether. Even if it was combined with other states, and enrollment at MCPS was limited to kids with medical reasons for attending, it seems like a virtual option should be offered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate the constructive comments, both supportive and challenging to this notion. I fully understand that this is an unorthodox approach, but given the road my family, as well as others, have been on to get here, it's almost literally the only safe path forward.

Yes, it is difficulty for the school to figure this problem out.
Yes, there is a lot of leg work for us to do in order to build support within the community and with MCPS administration.

But it is demonstrable that schools are currently ill-equipped to mitigate the spread of COVID (and other airborne diseases). It is also the case that kids are affected by this disease and it's complications, including disability and death. Furthermore, there are an estimated 30% of households dealing with the complications of long-COVID which directly correlates with the rise in chronic absenteeism in MCPS.

My point is, it is actually imperative that the school begins to address this issue lest we as a county/society choose to accept the medical burden we are placing on our kids for literally their entire lives.

But more specifically to my daughter, she is guaranteed, by law, free and safe access to a full education in the least-restrictive manner possible. In-person schooling is currently NOT safe; at home IIS services currently are not a full education; virtual schooling is currently not an option (nor will it be next year). It is upon the school to ensure that access, that is what this cohort is trying to achieve.

I’m sorry for what your child is going through but I think you are placing a highly irrational degree of faith in ventilation and masks. Respiratory illnesses and immune compromised kids existed before covid. Creating some kind of bubble classroom for them was not feasible before and is not feasible now. A child so fragile that they cannot get a respiratory virus probably needs to be homeschooled or put on the medical homecare program.

Yes, this. Ventilation and masks will not do it. OP should not presume to be doing this on behalf of broader society, either. We are in the second school year of mask optional and society has continued to function. I highly doubt there will be a popular resurgence of interest in requiring masks in schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What did such medically fragile students do before COVID?

As the parent of a very medically fragile child before COVID, I can tell you that we dealt with an Interim Instructional Service program that didn't work at all. We had new teachers all the time. The teachers came a few hours a week with no access to the gen ed curriculum, and they changed all the time. Each new teacher had to then be reintroduced to my kid and his specific needs.

The program also had a great deal of difficulty understanding the fact that my medically fragile kid was in fact medically fragile, and that things like visits with specialists who scheduled months in advance took precedence over IIS sessions. I had someone complain when I said we couldn't do sessions on Tuesdays because he had a weekly infusion of an experimental drug that had to be done over many hours in the hospital, that we weren't being flexible enough.

For us, homeschooling was the answer. I think that one solution here would be for MCPS to provide support for homeschooling for kids who have established medical issues that prevent school attendance. Other states have homeschooling scholarships that pay for curriculum, and online classes from providers who have worked out the kinks, and kids who receive those scholarships and qualify via an IEP are able to receive a full array of related services from itinerant providers. A similar model would make sense in MCPS.

sounds like you needed different things than masks and ventilation.

PP asked what medically fragile kids did before the pandemic. If I had to guess, their goal was to say that we should just go back to that. But the answer to that question is that MCPS failed medically fragile kids before the pandemic.

My kid died during (not from) the pandemic, so I can't provide any information about what would have happened after. I like to think that Virtual Academy would have been a better option than what we offerred. It's sad to think it's going away altogether. Even if it was combined with other states, and enrollment at MCPS was limited to kids with medical reasons for attending, it seems like a virtual option should be offered.

I am so sorry for your loss PP. Your idea is a sound one. The state should have a virtual program. There is k-12, but I don’t think it’s Maryland approved. They really should have one. It’s strange they don’t.

[Anonymous]

In another state, Virtual Academy has literally been a lifesaver for my niece. Her child is in school and niece was diagnosed with cancer and in treatment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate the constructive comments, both supportive and challenging to this notion. I fully understand that this is an unorthodox approach, but given the road my family, as well as others, have been on to get here, it's almost literally the only safe path forward.

Yes, it is difficulty for the school to figure this problem out.
Yes, there is a lot of leg work for us to do in order to build support within the community and with MCPS administration.

But it is demonstrable that schools are currently ill-equipped to mitigate the spread of COVID (and other airborne diseases). It is also the case that kids are affected by this disease and it's complications, including disability and death. Furthermore, there are an estimated 30% of households dealing with the complications of long-COVID which directly correlates with the rise in chronic absenteeism in MCPS.

My point is, it is actually imperative that the school begins to address this issue lest we as a county/society choose to accept the medical burden we are placing on our kids for literally their entire lives.

But more specifically to my daughter, she is guaranteed, by law, free and safe access to a full education in the least-restrictive manner possible. In-person schooling is currently NOT safe; at home IIS services currently are not a full education; virtual schooling is currently not an option (nor will it be next year). It is upon the school to ensure that access, that is what this cohort is trying to achieve.

I’m sorry for what your child is going through but I think you are placing a highly irrational degree of faith in ventilation and masks. Respiratory illnesses and immune compromised kids existed before covid. Creating some kind of bubble classroom for them was not feasible before and is not feasible now. A child so fragile that they cannot get a respiratory virus probably needs to be homeschooled or put on the medical homecare program.

Yes, this. Ventilation and masks will not do it. OP should not presume to be doing this on behalf of broader society, either. We are in the second school year of mask optional and society has continued to function. I highly doubt there will be a popular resurgence of interest in requiring masks in schools.

A virtual academy does not require masks in schools. Maryland really needs one for the state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate the constructive comments, both supportive and challenging to this notion. I fully understand that this is an unorthodox approach, but given the road my family, as well as others, have been on to get here, it's almost literally the only safe path forward.

Yes, it is difficulty for the school to figure this problem out.
Yes, there is a lot of leg work for us to do in order to build support within the community and with MCPS administration.

But it is demonstrable that schools are currently ill-equipped to mitigate the spread of COVID (and other airborne diseases). It is also the case that kids are affected by this disease and it's complications, including disability and death. Furthermore, there are an estimated 30% of households dealing with the complications of long-COVID which directly correlates with the rise in chronic absenteeism in MCPS.

My point is, it is actually imperative that the school begins to address this issue lest we as a county/society choose to accept the medical burden we are placing on our kids for literally their entire lives.

But more specifically to my daughter, she is guaranteed, by law, free and safe access to a full education in the least-restrictive manner possible. In-person schooling is currently NOT safe; at home IIS services currently are not a full education; virtual schooling is currently not an option (nor will it be next year). It is upon the school to ensure that access, that is what this cohort is trying to achieve.

I’m sorry for what your child is going through but I think you are placing a highly irrational degree of faith in ventilation and masks. Respiratory illnesses and immune compromised kids existed before covid. Creating some kind of bubble classroom for them was not feasible before and is not feasible now. A child so fragile that they cannot get a respiratory virus probably needs to be homeschooled or put on the medical homecare program.

It’s not faith, or irrational, to understand the studies that have shown that universal masking, proper ventilation, and air filtration can result in significant drops in disease spread. It’s literally the opposite. And to want that safe environment for my child seems like what a normal parent would want.

It’s quite unfortunate that while there are plenty of good faith comments on here, there really seems to be an underlying thread of snark and pettiness that shows up. This thread wasn’t started to give license to random anonymous forum trolls to drop proverbial grenades that are only meant to derail the discussion. I was asking for like-minded parents who would also like a safer environment for their kids to support the cause and raise the issue with MCPS and BoE leadership.