FCPS is in big trouble

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Office of Civil Right’s investigation “found that the School Division inappropriately reduced and limited services provided to students with disabilities, based on considerations other than the students’ individual educational needs, and failed to adequately remedy these denials of FAPE.” OCR said it also “identified concerns with staffing shortages and other administrative obstacles that may have limited the School Division’s provision of FAPE, as well as its ability to sufficiently track its FAPE services."

So FCPS was unable to provide FAPE because of staffing shortages and other obstacles - because there was a pandemic.

I have saved an email from the school reading specialist who was working 1-on-1 with my daughter per her IEP that basically said she couldn’t do the 1-on-1 virtually because she was watching her own children.

It still makes me laugh that she put it in writing and thought that was a valid reason to not do her job.

Yup. I’m a lawyer. I can’t imagine telling my clients I can’t write the brief because I’m watching my kids.

[Anonymous]

Homebound students with 504 plans were being denied an education even before this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Office of Civil Right’s investigation “found that the School Division inappropriately reduced and limited services provided to students with disabilities, based on considerations other than the students’ individual educational needs, and failed to adequately remedy these denials of FAPE.” OCR said it also “identified concerns with staffing shortages and other administrative obstacles that may have limited the School Division’s provision of FAPE, as well as its ability to sufficiently track its FAPE services."

So FCPS was unable to provide FAPE because of staffing shortages and other obstacles - because there was a pandemic.

I have saved an email from the school reading specialist who was working 1-on-1 with my daughter per her IEP that basically said she couldn’t do the 1-on-1 virtually because she was watching her own children.

It still makes me laugh that she put it in writing and thought that was a valid reason to not do her job.

Yup. I’m a lawyer. I can’t imagine telling my clients I can’t write the brief because I’m watching my kids.

Seriously? As a lawyer, you make the kind of salary where you can find a good sitter during a pandemic. No wonder teachers are leaving in droves. I am a mom of a child with autism and even she understands finances play a role here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Office of Civil Right’s investigation “found that the School Division inappropriately reduced and limited services provided to students with disabilities, based on considerations other than the students’ individual educational needs, and failed to adequately remedy these denials of FAPE.” OCR said it also “identified concerns with staffing shortages and other administrative obstacles that may have limited the School Division’s provision of FAPE, as well as its ability to sufficiently track its FAPE services."

So FCPS was unable to provide FAPE because of staffing shortages and other obstacles - because there was a pandemic.

I have saved an email from the school reading specialist who was working 1-on-1 with my daughter per her IEP that basically said she couldn’t do the 1-on-1 virtually because she was watching her own children.

It still makes me laugh that she put it in writing and thought that was a valid reason to not do her job.

Long before the pandemic a colleague of mine was trying to work from home while watching her toddler because her nanny was sick. Her climbed out of a window that day and fell to her death. The teacher was being honest. Give her a break. I am a SN parent too and I didn't expect anyone to be superhuman. Her kids matter too and not every teacher can afford to hire a babysitter during a pandemic!

I think kids with SN suffered terribly, but I think SN teachers will burn out right and left doing these IEP meetings. I have found so much that is already in the IEP a waste. I will probably opt out of an additional meeting. We are lucky we could afford to pay for tutoring and other supplemental services. ST is at the school is totally useless-private has been much better. OT is mediocre. I know many people don't have the option to pay for extra services and I hope the school serves them well.

OMG. Not comparable.

Yes, comparable. Children need supervision. Horrible things can happen when they don't have proper supervision. Have some empathy for the teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Homebound students with 504 plans were being denied an education even before this.

Its shocking how terrible the homebound
Education for sick kids is.

[Anonymous]

Having all those meetings is a colossal waste
of time.
"Compensatory time" can't happen with no staff.
Can they use ESSR money and just cut families checks to pay for private services?

[Anonymous]

I think every single parent who spent the year on FB ranting about schools having to be closed and those who were the mask police should be forcibly taxed to cover the cost of the compensatory services for these kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having all those meetings is a colossal waste
of time.
"Compensatory time" can't happen with no staff.
Can they use ESSR money and just cut families checks to pay for private services?

I have no idea what it's like in FCPS, but DCPS just cuts checks for comp services. The rates are low, but doable if you're not picky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having all those meetings is a colossal waste
of time.
"Compensatory time" can't happen with no staff.
Can they use ESSR money and just cut families checks to pay for private services?

I seriously think they should have been doing this all along. If money isn’t an issue/isn’t as much of an issue, parents can go to therapists that are out of network or don’t accept insurance and get around many of the wait list issues. There were speech therapists, for example, seeing kids in person as early as August/September 2020. Doing a bunch of IEP meetings now isn’t going to solve the fact that kids are badly behind after being out of school for so long in the first place.

People in MCPS have said they were given the run around about compensatory services for months, then finally offered comp services which were basically “an hour a week and the only time we can accommodate you is Saturday morning so if you have other stuff going on on the weekends, tough titty.” I feel like that’s what FCPS is going to do and then shrug their shoulders and say “we did all we could but no one wanted what we were so generously offering!”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having all those meetings is a colossal waste
of time.
"Compensatory time" can't happen with no staff.
Can they use ESSR money and just cut families checks to pay for private services?

I seriously think they should have been doing this all along. If money isn’t an issue/isn’t as much of an issue, parents can go to therapists that are out of network or don’t accept insurance and get around many of the wait list issues. There were speech therapists, for example, seeing kids in person as early as August/September 2020. Doing a bunch of IEP meetings now isn’t going to solve the fact that kids are badly behind after being out of school for so long in the first place.

People in MCPS have said they were given the run around about compensatory services for months, then finally offered comp services which were basically “an hour a week and the only time we can accommodate you is Saturday morning so if you have other stuff going on on the weekends, tough titty.” I feel like that’s what FCPS is going to do and then shrug their shoulders and say “we did all we could but no one wanted what we were so generously offering!”

Exactly. Just like blamed parents when Tutor.com was a flop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about those whose grades suffered because they didn’t get adequate services and they didn’t get into a college that they could’ve gotten into and instead kids who weren’t disadvantaged in that way, got in?

Why weren't the parents helping them? Keep this up and there won't be any teachers and all of you will be homeschooling

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about those whose grades suffered because they didn’t get adequate services and they didn’t get into a college that they could’ve gotten into and instead kids who weren’t disadvantaged in that way, got in?

+1000
This is my FCPS 504 kid. Her grades were lowered as teachers couldn’t figure out how to accommodate her disability on line quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was FCPS supposed to conjure teachers from thin air? This is ridiculous.

I know it didn’t seem like it for large part of the pandemic but FCPS was open and teachers were working. The problem was that leadership in FCPS told staff that they didn’t have to follow IEPs because they didn’t have to. That was entirely untrue and they have now gotten busted for it.

“Busted?” Are you 12? And nothing is going to happen to those teachers. Just FYI.

[Anonymous]

I just posted about my 504 kids grades being lowered during the pandemic. It was things like my kid needed tests printed and enlarged for a vision problem. Or, some couldn’t figure out time and half timers. A few teachers took several tests and quizzes to figure it out, but because the government said schools could ignore 504’s, so teachers didn’t redo those tests even when the 504 was not followed. There were several classes where my kid kept telling teachers they needed a darker marker and to write larger so my kid could see it, and it never happened.

The person who wrote in with a non 504/ IEP student whose grade was lowered……NOT the same thing at ALL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Office of Civil Right’s investigation “found that the School Division inappropriately reduced and limited services provided to students with disabilities, based on considerations other than the students’ individual educational needs, and failed to adequately remedy these denials of FAPE.” OCR said it also “identified concerns with staffing shortages and other administrative obstacles that may have limited the School Division’s provision of FAPE, as well as its ability to sufficiently track its FAPE services."

So FCPS was unable to provide FAPE because of staffing shortages and other obstacles - because there was a pandemic.

I have saved an email from the school reading specialist who was working 1-on-1 with my daughter per her IEP that basically said she couldn’t do the 1-on-1 virtually because she was watching her own children.

It still makes me laugh that she put it in writing and thought that was a valid reason to not do her job.

Long before the pandemic a colleague of mine was trying to work from home while watching her toddler because her nanny was sick. Her climbed out of a window that day and fell to her death. The teacher was being honest. Give her a break. I am a SN parent too and I didn't expect anyone to be superhuman. Her kids matter too and not every teacher can afford to hire a babysitter during a pandemic!

I think kids with SN suffered terribly, but I think SN teachers will burn out right and left doing these IEP meetings. I have found so much that is already in the IEP a waste. I will probably opt out of an additional meeting. We are lucky we could afford to pay for tutoring and other supplemental services. ST is at the school is totally useless-private has been much better. OT is mediocre. I know many people don't have the option to pay for extra services and I hope the school serves them well.

OMG. Not comparable.

Yes, comparable. Children need supervision. Horrible things can happen when they don't have proper supervision. Have some empathy for the teacher.

+1. Amazing that adults need this explained to them.