PLACEMENT CHANGES:

Online/Distance Learning Academies

Definition

School districts may have an online academy they are offering to students. Unlike last year, schools are not required to have a full online option for students. The district is responsible for providing FAPE.

Who Makes the Placement Decision?

The school district determines if distance learning or an online academy is offered. A parent or guardian chooses to enroll. 

Considerations and Next Steps

Schedule an IEP meeting that includes the Distance Learning teacher. The district needs to consider which services can be provided remotely and which require in-person in order for the student to make adequate progress. 

If a student is not making adequate progress, the team would need to reconvene to determine more appropriate service provisions. 

Regardless of a student’s educational placement, IEP teams need to determine how special education services will be delivered. Students may access special education services virtually, in person, or a combination of virtual and in-person (e.g., speech virtual but reading and DAPE in person), based on the method that best meets their needs. 

Questions to consider prior to and during the meeting:

• Was the student enrolled in distance learning or homeschool last school year? 

  • If yes, did they make progress on their IEP goals? 

  • If yes, did they pass their classes? (secondary)

  • If no, how did the student do during any remote learning time periods last year? 

• Is the student able to meaningfully participate in services virtually?

• ​​Secondary Students: Is the student on track to graduate? 

Service delivery decisions need to be made on an individual basis and based on the data available. Some services may need to be provided in-person within a mainstream building or alternate, neutral location. 

For any in-person services, try to group students as much as possible to maximize available resources and prevent the student from  having big gaps in their day. 

Talking points during the meeting:

Purpose of the Meeting: The family has chosen an online learning platform offered by the district. The IEP team is convening to determine how to provide FAPE. 

Talking Points:

• All students are general education students first, and as the district is offering this online academy opportunity, the IEP team is coming together to determine how to best meet the individualized needs of your son/daughter. 

• Review current service in each area 

  • At the last IEP meeting, the team determined [these services] are most appropriate in meeting the needs

  • Discuss the student needs as they relate to the virtual setting

  • To continue to meet these needs, the team is proposing to provide [determination of service provision] 

• Describe LRE (see below) in parent friendly language 

  • Where is the special education service taking place?

  • What will the student be missing from the online platform? 

  • Why is this the students LRE?

• Accommodations and Modifications

  • Determine the accommodations and modifications the student will need to access the online curriculum. *If the district is working with an online program, many have suggested accommodations the team can reference. 

Amendment Paperwork

Complete amendment paperwork in alignment with procedure.

LRE Statement in IEP

The LRE, regardless of setting, always has the same three considerations: 

1. Where instruction will take place: Specialized instruction can be provided in a variety of formats, including online

2. What the student will be missing: The specific classes and activities that the student will not participate in so that they may receive their specialized instruction

3. Why this is the student’s LRE: The explanation needs to be more specific than, “Because his skills are discrepant from peers, Johnny will receive…" Thorough rationales explain the features of specialized instruction that (1) are necessary for the student and (2) cannot be reasonably offered in a less restrictive setting.

Example statement: "Francis needs specialized math instruction in the special education setting via an online direct service support with a special education teacher. While Francis participates in this instruction, he will not access the asynchronous online academy activities. This is the least restrictive environment for Francis because, for his grade level, he needs specialized instruction at his present-levels in addition to the online academy instruction.  Participating in general education asynchronous online academy during this time would not provide Francis with a reasonable opportunity for educational benefit, as he requires math fact fluency trials and repeated and guided practice to make adequate progress on the skill of math calculation."