Also from IN*Source: Recovery and Compensatory Services for those still in school

This is also from the Indiana Department of Education, via the above-mentioned IN*Source newsletter:

IDOE has received inquiries from schools regarding the provision of services for students with disabilities to make up for service interruptions caused by COVID-19 school building closures. Specifically, if students with disabilities must be provided with compensatory services as a result of COVID-19 closures and how to determine the extent of services provided.  

 

Neither the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act nor Article 7 defines the term recovery services. This term is being used by educators across the country in lieu of the term compensatory services in response to the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 and reflects the need of all learners to recover from educational gaps. 

 

Recovery Services vs. Compensatory Services

The United States Department of Education advised schools to make individual determinations about compensatory services to ensure FAPE during the pandemic. However, because school buildings were mandatorily closed, the usual framework for determining whether compensatory services should be provided does not fit current circumstances. Schools did not fail to provide FAPE because a student’s IEP wasn't being implemented; the entire country moved to distance education without choice. 

Despite the development of continuous learning plans and other efforts by schools to ensure continuity of learning during school closures, many students are likely to show signs of regression when schools reopen. To mitigate this, many students will need additional support.  

 

The term recovery services rather than compensatory services aptly describes the universal provision of services for students showing signs of regression upon return to school as a systemic approach to help our schools recover from COVID-19 interruptions. It is up to local schools to determine the universal recovery skills to be provided to students. Recovery services can be provided over an extended period of time and need not be a minute-for-minute replacement of services that were not provided during building closures.  

 

The individualized recovery services to be provided to a student with a disability should be determined by the case conference committee, based on the unique needs of the student once school has been back in session long enough to determine any gaps beyond delays exhibited by other students. This is an individual determination; not all students will need recovery services written into the IEP. For more information, CLICK HERE.