If my child's charter school offers virtual therapy, can I push back to get in-person therapy?

If virtual therapies are not working out for your child at a charter school, you may want to push for in-person services. Having the provider agree that virtual therapy is not working can help with pushing for in-person therapies instead because you have the backup of those providers.

Something to consider is that when it comes to in-person therapy, it depends on who the charter contracts with and where. You have to go with what they have, and if they don't have anyone yet, you may need to wait on receiving any services until they contract with someone local. You then have to take your child to that therapy appointment wherever it happens to be; some charters will not allow therapy providers to enter the student's home for liability reasons.

You also have the option of refusing the therapies that aren't working, or asking that the provider be consult only (meaning the specialists consult with the parent on how to work with the child instead of working directly with the child). However, you may receive pushback from the team on reducing services if your child has significant support needs and educational goals; they need to do their due diligence of providing a service. Reducing service minutes may be an option, but it depends on the charter and on the child's needs.

There are certain areas in the IEP world that the school is required to do certain things before something is implemented. However, not in this case. If the school insists that you must try virtual services first before getting in-person services, it's because that’s how they typically do it, not because they are required to as part of the IEP process. If your child's assessment doesn’t show that they need in-person support, then you need a new assessment. You need an accurate assessment to decide if something is or isn’t going to work for a child.

For more information about charter schools, see our article California Homeschooling 101.