Julie Rodriguez hired a tutor for her first grade son since the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools across the nation.

The Fresno mother has been online a lot lately, trying to figure out how to properly teach her son, who uses special education services at Figarden Elementary. He needs visual aids to learn, and those were left at school when Fresno Unified campuses closed in mid-March.

“I don’t know how these things are supposed to be taught,” Rodriguez said. “I’m getting a general idea of what they’re doing, and then I’m creating my own worksheet. I bought my own supplies. I’m trying to get him everything that he needs.”

She and other Fresno Unified School District special education parents say they are frustrated with what they say is a lack of guidance and support from the district now seven weeks into the distance learning period caused by the coronavirus pandemic. They worry their kids are falling behind.

Families with children in special education are not the only ones seeking more routine and guidance from their schools. Students in general education are also feeling the struggle as schools have scrambled to implement a distance learning model that many school officials acknowledge highlight inequities like device and Internet access.

As schools went dark, parents were directed to the Fresno Unified website where they could find worksheets and mock schedules for each grade level. The problem with that for special education, parents say, is that each student has an individualized education plan, known as an IEP, with specific goals.

While the links may work for students in general education, Rodriguez said, special education students need individualized work to meet their specific goals.

“I’m not understanding why we weren’t sent home with packets, like actual physical things,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t know. I just feel like it’s a complete afterthought.”

The plan at FUSD

About 11% of Fresno Unified’s 74,000 students are identified as special needs, according to school officials. Student participation ranges from all-day special education classes to receiving extra resources, such as speech therapy.

Although FUSD is not making work mandatory for a grade, there are still supposed to be opportunities for learning and improving last quarter’s grades, according to the district.

Brian Beck, the assistant superintendent of special education at FUSD, said since spring break ended in early April, case managers have been “reaching out to students and families at least once a week or connecting with them, (and) providing learning experiences.”

Parents who spoke with The Bee said communication has been sporadic, and it’s been up to them to help their kids meet IEP goals. Most of the communication they’ve received has been an emotional well-being check-in and not centered around learning.

“They’re saying, ‘let me know if you need anything.’ But I don’t know what I need,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t know what I don’t know. They’re the experts; I need them to tell me, ‘Hey, this is what we’re working on, these are the things that have worked the best.”

Parents are asking for support, guidance, individualized lessons, and binders and packets of work to use at home.

In response to parent concerns, Beck acknowledged the delays.

“Although services are being delivered for many students, we are aware that there have been some delays for others due to different circumstances such as inability to contact parents, access to technology, and staff limitations due to COVID-19. Support is being provided in each of these circumstances in order to get services to students and families as soon as possible.”

He also said that the online worksheets might not work for every student.

“Teachers and staff are utilizing these resources along with their own instructional resources depending on each student’s needs,” he said in a statement.

Parents concerned with their child’s education can call the district’s COVID-19 hotline at 559-457-3395, Beck said. There they can get answers and request support or services from the district.

Slatic speaks out

FUSD trustee Terry Slatic advocated for the special education community during the latest board meeting on April 15. He says he is frustrated with what he described as a lack of answers.

“I’ve discussed this multiple times with the superintendent,” he told The Bee. “And I can’t get any legitimate answers on when our special ed department is going to actually really begin teaching these kids.”

He said it’s not a debate whether kids have lost progress since the closure, but how much.

“We absolutely must do a bonafide assessment to see how much ground special ed has lost. Have they lost six months, one year, two years during this period?”

“This is absolutely a disaster in the making, in terms of not providing service and having these kids lose so much ground. It’s ridiculous.”

Superintendent Bob Nelson last week said that because each student’s needs are unique, it “eliminates the idea of comprehensive mandates for all special education students in terms of the duration of services, educational goals, or instructional delivery model.”

“Each student has a team, with family members as equal partners, who make those specific decisions in support of every child,” he continued in a statement. “Distance learning, by its very nature, impacts the nature of our instructional delivery. That is precisely the reason we are meeting individually with every family to discuss those impacts.”

‘As far as we know ... there is no plan’

Chrissy and Michael Kelly have two sons with autism. Their sons’ general education teachers have contacted them. Still, it’s taken much longer for an initial reach-out from case managers, who are supposed to make sure kids are working toward their IEP goals and continuing to receive other resources, such as speech or physical therapy.

“We would never expect people to hit the ground running day one with a plan and resources,” Chrissy Kelly said, “but six or seven weeks in?”

“As far as we know from where we sit, there is no plan,” Michael Kelly said.

The families point to other school districts, such as Clovis Unified, who they say have been more closely following their students and making sure they keep on track with their therapy appointments and education.

“Because we’re not in the classroom every day, we don’t know how they’re teaching our kids because we’re not in there doing it with them,” Michael Kelly said. “Now they’re just saying here’s a lesson plan for today. Go ahead.”

Chrissy Kelly says she’s always been an outspoken advocate for her children at Fresno Unified.

“There’s a lack of equity between general education and special education,” she said. “We’re also very privileged position that we are able to work with our boys and work with other experts to do what it takes. But collectively, I’m worried for our special education children.”

A shift in focus

Beck said administration initially believed that campuses would only be closed for a month, and they planned accordingly. Then the announcement came on April 1 that students would not return for the rest of the year.

“That makes things a lot different,” he said. “It’s one thing when you’re just closing for a few weeks, then when it becomes the entire year, that really changes your focus.”

He said in the first week of closures, school staff focused on meeting the immediate needs of children — socio-emotional support and nutrition.

Then came staff reaching out to outside vendors who provide services such as speech and physical therapy.

Beck said the goal for those receiving physical therapy is to have professionals guide parents on how they can do some of the work at home.

“We have given our staff guidance on providing specialized academic instruction and therapeutic services such as speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy,” he said.

Yet, Rodriguez said her son has still not been getting his regular speech therapy sessions, although a case manager did ask her to sign up for the Remind app, and told her it would be used to schedule an appointment.

“It’s like six weeks (in), and the plan is that you’re creating a plan,” she said. “When’s the plan coming?’”

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.

This story was originally published May 4, 2020 at 8:19 AM.