Our state board of ed had their meeting today. They expect sped teachers to continue to teach in person, regardless. So, if there’s a big enough COVID risk in our area that schools go to 100% virtual learning, sped teachers are required to teach in person.
All teachers are have to report to school, so it’s not like I’d be the only one. But I am the ONLY teacher required to teach in person.
I e-mailed my union to see if there’s anything to do.
I wondered if this would be the case. Apparently during the spring shut down, even during "stay at home," some rural schools had sped students going to school buildings for services. The governor said this was allowed and even praised it over and over again in briefings. Since then, any time in person learning is discussed, one of the first things mentioned is that students with disabilities need to be at school, and if there are limits to who can be in buildings, these students are "top priority."
Definitely not equitable for the teachers at all. At minimum there should be hazard pay if you're being asked to work in person while no one else has to, but we know that won't happen. I hope your union can figure something out for you. If this happens here I will be kicking up a fuss for sure.
What is the plan for this logistically? I remember you've changed jobs, but is it still a resource type position? My students only see me for 30-60 minutes per day. So if there is no in person school except sped services, I'm guessing their parents would have to bring them in for their group and then pick them back up. I can guess many either aren't able to do that in the middle of the day or flat out don't want to. Possibly instead of daily I'd see them once per week and do all of their minutes at once. I don't want to even think about trying to do 4 hours of sped services all at once, and it's still an inconvenience for parents.
I'm in a small to medium district and we're looking at upwards of 70 people threatening not to return. If even half of those people don't return, it will shut the district down. If certain key positions don't return it won't even take 35 to shut the district down and go directly to distance learning.
Our self contained classes are looking at coming in 4 days a week (as opposed to 3) for an hour or so longer than regular classes. One self contained middle school teacher announced during our union meeting she's resigning. That position will NEVER be filled.
You could see the union president practically drooling with excitement.
Her resignation alone might shut down our district. As a fellow Sped teacher I can't tell you how much I'd love it if a Sped resignation forced the district to go to distance learning. What kind of message would that send?
I don't understand how this would be workable. I know districts have done it but how many students have actually attended. I as a parent would not be thrilled having my child in school for 30 or 60 minutes everyday.
Who would take/pick up my child? What happens if there was a medical need would a nurse be in the building? Can I stay in the building so I don't have to drive back/forth? What do I do with my other children at home while I'm driving my child to school? Is there bus services? What happens with learning time between school and getting virtual lessons? I would assume students will miss class time for other subjects.
Once again and I know I sound like a broken record, but I really do believe that parents wanting this for their children want a babysitter and not a teacher.
That is such BS. PT often makes me grateful for my union.
Are related services also being administered in person?
Supposedly my district is pushing to call IEP meetings and have kids with behaviors and medically fragile kids do remote. There is vague wording in our state guidelines to back us up.
I can see current and past families pushing for any kind of in person because they need the break from their kid, especially with older kids.
What happens if parents of Sped students refuse to send their child? I wonder if that allows the district to discontinue the IEP and accommodations if the parents opt for distance learning.
Our district is doing the same. Special Ed and at risk youth onsite. Everyone else remote. It remains to be seem how many parents/guardians will go along. More details at the next school board meeting this week.
Our agreement allows for Sped and K-3 to have small groups and one on one while everyone else is remote. It does leave a lot of unanswered questions regarding transportation, meals, cleaning, schedules, etc. Although I can also see or understand why people would want this, what are the logistics of it all?
This pits teachers against teachers in the worst case scenario. Gen ed and sped need to take action against this. The district's plan defeats the purpose of eradicating the virus for public health.
So, just today one of the largest districts in my area announced a remote start for the first quarter (the longest of any districts who have said they are starting remotely- others have said only 2 weeks)- EXCEPT for sped. I'm pretty sure it's severe needs/self-contained rooms only that are doing in person.
I found out about this from our state union FB page. The self-contained teachers posting there seem to be fine with it. They say they only have a few kids anyway, so it's already a good sized cohort. That covers most of the logistical issues- it wouldn't be kids coming in for a 30-60 minute service and going home.
While I'm glad they're happy with it I have to imagine not every single teacher is! I get that in their case it's just impossible to do any meaningful teaching online, but why should they risk their lives when none of the other teachers in the district have to? Yes, it's not as many kids, but these kids will not be able to wear masks or distance, may not be able to communicate symptoms, and who knows what they and their families are being exposed to outside of school.
We have a self-contained Autism room in our building and I know the teacher would be thrilled with this. However, she's very young and she's not worried about the virus/not taking many precautions outside of school to begin with. Not everyone is in the same situation. And if teachers have children of their own who attend the district, what are they supposed to do?
Supposedly my district is pushing to call IEP meetings and have kids with behaviors and medically fragile kids do remote. There is vague wording in our state guidelines to back us up.
Complete opposite here. My sped director is trying to push families of students in self-contained or moderate needs programs to do in person. I know not all of those students are medically fragile, but several of them are and several of them have severe behaviors as well. She's saying we can't provide the services they need online and those case managers are supposed to try to "talk parents out of it" if they want to choose remote. If the parent insists on remote, the child is basically not going to get sped services this year. I think she's out of her mind. What if god forbid something happens to one of those kids, and then the family is saying that they didn't even want them to go to school in the first place, but their sped team told them it was basically their only option?
DS has been back for almost a month. It’s a different situation for him though. He’s in a therapeutic school with less than 25 kids where they’re 1:1 (2:1, max) and have a long list of safety protocols that they created and instituted. DS will not wear a mask nor will any of his classmates. His therapists are working on it (as are we) but it’s going to take time. Online didn’t work for him (huge understatement).
I feel very safe sending him and judging by the staff I’ve talked with, they feel safe returning to work, and are happy to be back with the kids. They have a variety of ages working there, too, it’s not just young kids fresh out of college.
Also, I believe there is a class action lawsuit regarding IEP services this spring. I’ve seen rumblings of it on several of my autism parent groups. Luckily, I have no need for it, but some parents have valid issues. That could be playing a part in some decision making.
I guess my point is, there’s no good answer. I hope you all reach a compromise that everyone can live with. This situation stinks across the board.
I think this is going to cause a huge amount of animosity between teachers which is absolutely what is not needed right now.
In my district we can ask to teach the virtual kids (we would work from home) but it’s strictly dependent on numbers at individual schools.
I am at a Title I school so the inequality of number of teachers who have to teach on campus to full classes vs higher income schools is going to be glaring. This has been brought up many times but the district can’t make parents choose online and Florida is required to be on campus 5 days a week with normal class sizes.
I have to say, our union would never sign for only ESE teachers to go in person.
There has been discussion here (if we can start digitally) of setting up learning labs in Title I schools and staffing it with volunteer (teachers or paras) and provide stipends.
Said we could go back in person for self-contained then I would be there with bells on. Virtual learning does not meet their needs. I teach a moderate to severe Life Skills class.
I think it if came down to it, and everyone else was in their rooms doing virtual anyway, I would not mind it as long as they screened my students medically each day. I am not a martyr. I am definitely in the high-risk group for multiple reasons/issues. I just know my students and their goals--all of it works best in person.
Remote learning was a bust for my students in the Spring and that was just trying to maintain skills.
I have a little different situation too--I only have a few truly self contained. I have the type of room to allow for fully self contained-including meals should that be required.
I think too, in a case like that, I would rally for IEP adjustments for a shortened school day for them. Have them come in like 9-1 or 1:30 ish. That way I would have a small plan time in the am and another at the end of day to prep more long term. There is a lot of "fluff" in a standard school day that could be streamlined out in a case like this.
I have a middle school life skills class, and virtual learning sucked. BUT, in-person learning is NOT safe right now. My area/state has rising numbers - if it's not safe for the language arts teacher next door, it's not safe for me. 2/3 of my students will not be able to wear masks - how am I supposed to stay 6 ft away while helping with personal hygiene or feeding? What about my student who has seizures? If they are the only students in the building they are being 100% removed from general education since there's no way I can support in-person and online learning. Lunch and recess are going to be really fun.
What about my three paras, all of whom are over the age of 60? My husband is in an at-risk category - I'm just supposed to be ok with exposing him to whatever I bring home? What about my students who *can* wear a mask? They're just hosed because they are in a classroom with kids who can't?
I'm pretty sure my district is about to announce a move to all distance learning, and I'm hoping my union fights hard for it to be across the board. Yes, virtual learning puts my students at a disadvantage, but I'm willing to work my tail off to make it work as best as I possibly can. I'm pretty sure I shouldn't have to compromise my health/die for this job.
There is no good solution. Someone always looses in this situation. I understand the fear of getting sick or bringing it home to others.
Teachers are either essential or they aren't.
If they are, they must figure out how to provide the services in a manner in which the person receiving the service benefits. We know many kids, but especially the bulk of the special education students, were not being successful at all using remote learning. As a few others have said, it just doesn't work for them.
If they are not, why have school at all until COVID is over? Shutter it all and let the government stockpile the tax money until next year. Why not? There are many "non-essential" businesses out there that were forced to close because they are deemed "non-essential".
Auto-mechanics are deemed essential so they remain open, but what if they said, I won't touch anything that a customer might touch on their car. All mechanics are saying the same thing. I won't sit in their car because there are COVID germs in the air. I know I am essential, but I won't risk my life. Your car has a problem and he said he can fix it. He lets you know the cost. When complete you come to pick it up. Your car doesn't work but he claims he did the best he could do in the COVID times. You see he rotated your tires. So you ask why did he rotate the tires. His response, "Well, since I won't sit inside the car because of COVID, I rotated the tires because you needed the car fixed. I can do that safely without having to enter your COVID filled car." He "worked" on your car and wants to be paid, but we all know, the job that needed to be done wasn't.
Are teachers essential workers? Are some teachers essential to the point where they have to be with the students in order to do more than "change the tires when the engine has problems"? Or do they want to be seen as essential workers but act like non-essential workers?
The mechanic doesn't have to sit in the car next to the unmasked driver for 6+ hours. The owner of the car (presumably) is not going to bite the mechanic when asked to do something he/she doesn't want to do.
Children are counting on adults to keep them safe and I find it appalling that some adults are not providing families with funds to keep children at home until a vaccine is developed. I find it appalling that teachers are expected to provide PPE and other environmental safety guards. I find it appalling that some think children will not be ok unless they are forced into a dystopian classroom ,spaced far apart from their friends and masked teacher so that childcare is provided. What a twisted sense of the needs of children. Children want to be safe with their families. Who really gives a flying .....k that children may be a few months older than expected once they return to the classroom? It is not the job of schools to provide childcare and it is a colossal weakness of America that safety nets for children and families are not provided.
Children are counting on adults to keep them safe and I find it appalling that some adults are not providing families with funds to keep children at home until a vaccine is developed. I find it appalling that teachers are expected to provide PPE and other environmental safety guards. I find it appalling that some think children will not be ok unless they are forced into a dystopian classroom ,spaced far apart from their friends and masked teacher so that childcare is provided. What a twisted sense of the needs of children. Children want to be safe with their families. Who really gives a flying .....k that children may be a few months older than expected once they return to the classroom? It is not the job of schools to provide childcare and it is a colossal weakness of America that safety nets for children and families are not provided.
YES!!
The only thing I will say is I don’t know that keeping them home until a vaccine is developed/distributed is feasible but at least until infection rates are under control. My state currently has a 12% positivity rate and daily cases in the thousands with deaths in the hundreds.
I fully understand that parents have to work. I also fully understand that I provide a “service” which can be 100% performed remotely.
An auto mechanic can’t fix my car through a computer screen.
I have long believed that schools provide way too many services that should be the responsibility of the government, community, and employers.
My job is to educate children.
Do I adore the kids and do everything I can for then? Yes.
Should that be expected? No.
"I fully understand that parents have to work. I also fully understand that I provide a “service” which can be 100% performed remotely."
While you may be able to do so with your students, many can't be effective without being in person with students. Good for your students that you are as successful remotely vs in person. I'm sure you have data to back that up.
What I know is almost everyone I know says remote wasn't working for the majority of their students, especially those who struggle academically without a disability and those with disabilities.
"The mechanic doesn't have to sit in the car next to the unmasked driver for 6+ hours. The owner of the car (presumably) is not going to bite the mechanic when asked to do something he/she doesn't want to do."
And? They still have risks, especially at places like a Jiffy Lube or car inspection where they have to get in cars right after the driver and possibly group of passengers leave. Given that the space is confined, drivers lick their fingers, pick their noses, sneeze, etc, cars are really germy. (oh, yes, you see so much while commuting in heavy traffic) Given that people they don't have to wear their masks in cars, we expect mechanics to hop in where there was no mask worn and the viral load is confined to the car's cabin.
It isn't EXACTLY the same, but there are still risks of contracting the virus.
Are you saying that you would be fine being a mechanic at a service station where people drive up and you would immediately have to hop in their car after car after car (maybe 30 a day - all strangers)?
Because education is so crucial, teachers—if considered “essential”— arguably should be eligible for priority access to COVID-19 testing, PPE and, eventually, a vaccine. The need for PPE, disinfectant and other protective measures is even more crucial in poorer districts and disadvantaged areas where online learning is really not an option.
Schools could also consider allowing teachers at high risk of infection—with preexisting health conditions, for example—to teach remotely.
Educational International has identified five essential areas that governments need to focus on to ensure a safe transition back to on-site education and to mitigate the impact of prolonged closures on students and educators.
It is also important to remember that no one wants to be back in school as much as teachers. Their lives, and their livelihoods, are committed to helping students learn and succeed. Many want to return to work safely, though, and the coronavirus has made their job that much riskier in a classroom.
Five months into this pandemic, it might be time to rethink how we determine “essential workers” and how we help them.
Are you saying that you would be fine being a mechanic at a service station where people drive up and you would immediately have to hop in their car after car after car (maybe 30 a day - all strangers)?
Yep.
As a mechanic entering a car, I could spray disinfectant before entering, wear gloves, and use a mask. And not have an unmasked person breathing directly into my face for long stretches of time.
I am perfectly ok with schools saying they are not essential and shutting it all down for the year. If kids aren't learning, what is the point of going through the motions?
this will lead to all kinds of law suits and union action. I understand the thinking. Special education is a tough nut when doing remote learning. The positive part is that all children have a good sense of technology. It can be done. Sacrificing student and teacher health doesn't make the effort worth it.
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07-23-2020, 07:00 PM
