MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A new school year getting in gear, but the parents of some special needs students say they are being left out.
Students in Shelby County Schools will be learning virtually, in front of a computer with their teachers on the other end directing lessons. Parents say virtual learning is almost impossible to do for kids with severe challenges.
Crady Schneider’s 10-year-old son Cooper is ready for school, but is school ready for him?
His mom is left with a big dilemma as virtual classes get underway.
“The fact they want Cooper to sit in front of a device like any typical kid is just ridiculous,” Schneider said. “He is non-verbal, non-ambulatory. He is tube-fed. He is still in diapers.”
Sitting still and comprehending via the internet is not an option, she said.
Her son has been attending the Shrine School, a special school for students with severe disabilities, where he receives occupational, speech and physical therapy.
Jessica Peggs’ son Isaiah, who has epilepsy and cerebral palsy, also attends the Shrine School.
“He is not walking, not talking. So pretty much I have to do everything for him,” she said.
Peggs said she has some home equipment to help her son with standing and mobility, but she also has to work and can’t be at home with him for virtual learning.
Finding a place to enroll him for help hasn’t been easy.
That’s why these parents were hoping the Shrine School, which is a part of Shelby County Schools, would be allowed to open.
But when the district went totally virtual, the Shrine School was included.
“They expect a child with disabilities to be on the computer six hours a day with, not a computer, a tablet,” Schneider said.
She and Peggs said the teachers at the Shrine School are trained in skills they don’t necessarily have.
“If you are supposed to have speech therapy, how can a therapist see on the device how well your child is chewing or swallowing their food, when in person, they are touching your throat?” Peggs said.
These parents took their concerns to the school system, but say they haven’t gotten any help.
They fear their children will fall further behind, and say they have already seen them lose progress since COVID-19 forced schools to close.
“We are calling on them to either re-open the Shrine School or to provide Cooper’s therapist or a teacher at our home,” Schneider said.
It’s an issue nationwide, as some parents around the country turn to the courts to get help. They say that under law, a student’s individualized educational plan or IEP is a written contract and right now, the school system isn’t honoring that contract.
Shelby County Schools officials said they have been meeting with students and parents to discuss IEPs and specific digital needs as well as holding professional development for teachers.
The district says all students with individual learning plans will be provided services and accommodations agreed upon by their IEP Team, and they will continue to explore ways to safely engage with students who have disabilities and their families.
Schneider has contacted an attorney.
“I know that there is other ways to do this and I am just frustrated that Shelby County has had five months to figure this out and we have been just forgotten about,” she said.
