A2Z Educational Advocates

Today’s COVID update from LA County officials included an update on the possible reopening of schools.

This news is just one step. It remains to be seen how each individual district in LA county will proceed.

LAUSD is among the school districts that are under investigation for possible discrimination during the Covid-19 school closures. https://www.disabilityscoop.com//ed-department-inve/29171/

News on LAUSD reopening: Superintendent says vaccination for teachers and staff must occur first.

So inspiring! The 22-year-old poet, writer, and activist was born with special needs, but Gorman didn’t let that stop her from setting massive goals and obtaining them.

Message from A2Z about COVID-19 concerns: Due to the concerns about the Coronavirus, we at A2Z are cognizant of the rapidly evolving impact on the day to day lives of families that we serve. We want to assure our current clients and parents who may need our services in the future, that we are continuing to work and will be available to you during this time. During school closures, we are providing Zoom intakes with our lead attorney for new clients who need a strategy sessio...n. We are also providing Zoom information meetings for schools, parent groups, and related services professionals who want to understand how these school closures affect their students. Contact us today to set up an information session! We are also committed to assisting families with students who are impacted by school closures as they navigate through the coming weeks. We have resources and information about school closures and the impact of those closures available here on our website. We are also providing guidance to families whose students are on IEPs about how to best protect your child’s right to services during this time. A2Z is always dedicated to supporting families of children with disabilities in our community, and especially in this time of uncertainty. Please utilize the resources available on our website page dedicated to COVID-19 EDUCATION RESOURCES FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, which will be updated as we obtain more information that is useful for families. Contact us if you need assistance because your child has been impacted by the closures.

COPAA is offering a free webinar for members, created and presented by the Right Question Institute, entitled: Legal Advocates as Catalysts for Client Agency: A...n Introduction to the Right Question Strategy. This session is a prelude to the 2021 Virtual Summit and will take place on Tuesday, January 12th from 2:00 - 3:00 pm EST. For more information on registration and a full description of the webinar, please visit: https://www.copaa.org/page/rightquestion Description: The Right Question Institute (RQI) is a nonprofit organization with a strategy to teach skills essential for self-advocacy, participation, and agency. RQI’s methods and tools help people working on the front lines of a range of systems build the ability of their clients to: a) ask better questions, and b) participate more effectively in decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their families.

Important news for students and parents. It remains to be seen, of course, how this will actually play out in our local districts.

News from LAUSD

Reposting this from Speak Up: So far, LAUSD has not pursued a partial reopening because UTLA negotiated an all-or-nothing agreement saying that no one returns until it is safe for everyone to return. The result has been devastating for kids with disabilities. The vast majority of kids with disabilities are not being well-served during campus closures and are unable to learn effectively through distance learning, said Katie Braude, the chief executive officer of Speak Up. ...The regression and learning loss of our kids threatens to leave our most vulnerable students far behind. More than a third of parents said their children are not receiving the full set of services that L.A. Unified had previously agreed to deliver in legally binding compliance documents. https://www.latimes.com//la-schools-reopen-special-needs-s

This is consistent with what we hear from our families as well.

Interesting findings. Parents - what are your thoughts?

Most notably, Ginsburg, who died Friday at the age of 87, wrote the majority opinion in the landmark 1999 ruling in Olmstead v. L.C. The decision affirmed the right of people with disabilities to live in the community. This big moment, and (Ginsburg’s) staunch affirmation of the human dignity of people with disabilities and their rightful place in the community of their choice, fundamentally changed the course of the lives of hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities, said Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc.

Thoughts from SpeakUp on the issue of reopening LAUSD schools for some students in light of new guidance from LA County.

Did you know that LAPL offers free online tutoring for K - 12 students and adult learners from 11:00am - 11:00pm? Visit www.lapl.org/onlinetutor to get started. #LAPL #WoodlandHillsLibrary #WoodlandHills #OnlineTutor

PARENTS, we want to hear how this week is going for your students! Here’s coverage from the LA Times about the start of the school year. https://www.latimes.com//lausd-reopens-online-on-zoom-amid

Across the city, anxiety is rising as parents and children face a new type of school year. Parents have become both the district's IT team and teachers' aides. Advocates worry that low-income students without access to a quiet place to work and stable internet access will suffer most. And there's also concern about keeping school-age children's attention focused on a screen.

Although there aren’t a lot of details yet about how this will look, or how soecific districts will (or won’t) implement this, this is big news for our students. At A2Z, we are working hard to help parents navigate these rapidly evolving policies!

Today is the first day of school in LAUSD although Thursday is the first day of live instruction!

This article has great information and a reminder to parents that your child’s program - even during the pandemic - should be individualized rather than just based on blanket policies. https://www.disabilityscoop.com//what-the-coronavir/28737/

This article is a good overview of many of the specific issues facing students with disabilities during the pandemic.

School districts will be receiving guidance from the state in reopening for small groups of students with disabilities and others with acute needs for face-to-face instruction. This could be very important for our students. We will be watching as further developments emerge so that we can assist parents with navigating access to face to face instruction for students with disabilities.

Registration link: https://bit.ly/2XCVnR9