By Aaron Allen
Seattle Medium Newspaper
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic schools have tried to adjust as best they can to the needs of their students during this period.
One demographic of children that seems to have fallen through the proverbial cracks are students with special needs.
According to the Seattle Special Education PTSA (SSEPTSA), African American, Asian Pacific-Islander (API), and Indigenous K-8 students are being left behind by Seattle Public Schools during the COVID-19 crisis, particularly those who receive special education services. This is according to a snapshot survey compiled by the SSEPTSA of parents who were enrolled in SPS during the closures last Spring.
SSEPTSA has voiced concerns over the handling and alleged neglect of this group of students by Seattle Public Schools (SPS).
A letter from the SSEPTSA’s President Janis White emphasized the need for the SPS to take a more serious look into the needs of special needs students.
“Since we know that some families will choose 100% remote learning and all families will have some remote learning, it is imperative that the District focus on best practices for delivering inclusive remote services based on the needs of families in our district,” states the letter sent to Seattle Schools by White.
SSEPTSA conducted a survey early in the pandemic in order to determine what educational strategies were working for their students and what struggles they were encountering. The survey’s goal was to show that because of small budget and lack of access to families and that it is important for the School District to become more involved with a larger survey in order to amass more data and to give a more complete and encompassing picture of the needs of special needs students and their families.
According to SSEPTSA’s survey: Less than 2/3rds of families felt on line check-ins with staff were effective; Less than 25% felt the “Schoology” web based platform was effective; Nearly zero felt the You Tube/TV instruction has any benefit; These numbers crater to below 10% for African American, API, and Indigenous children.
White says the survey indicated an urgent need for more data in order to help families both adjust and giving them the necessary resources to be successful, and is asking the School District to conduct a more specific survey of all families of students receiving special education.
“Our compiled results demonstrates the need for the District to conduct a survey that goes beyond asking families whether or not they are ‘concerned’ and asks questions about the specific learning tools that were used in the spring to determine what worked and what didn’t – by grade level, region and race/ethnicity,” says White.
SSEPTSA say that for families receiving special education supports, well over 50% struggled with balancing work and learning, as well as simply getting kids to do any school activities, and nearly half struggled with access to special education support groups and services.
