If your child has fallen behind as a result of virtual learning, you’re not alone. While many students have returned to in-person schooling, the cumulative effects of two years of pandemic life have caught up with all of us. One global consulting firm found that students were “on average, five months behind in math and four months behind in reading” at the end of the 2020–2021 school year.
To learn how we can help our kids cope with pandemic-related unfinished learning, and how to access recoupment funds to get the services they need, we spoke with Assistant Superintendent Dina Parker of the Tri-City SELPA.
Unfinished learning — or learning loss — is a result of school campuses closing and transitioning to online learning from March 2020 through September 2021. During the pandemic, many students weren’t able to access the academic services they needed to thrive. According to a 2021 survey completed by the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), 86 percent of parents claimed their kids experienced some form of unfinished learning or slowed educational progress. Worse still, only 18 percent said their child received any services to make up for it.
And while that is now two years in the past, the effects are still being felt. The remedy for that loss? Learning recovery support. That support comes in many forms, including new supports and services, tutoring, counseling, or reimbursement to parents for outside programs.
“Most districts are looking at extended learning opportunities that can take place in the summer or after school, like tutoring or therapy,” Parker says. “All of the learning recovery support needs to be supplemental.”
Learning recovery services are intended to recoup some of the learning loss that occurred during school closures and/or distance learning. Whether services are required and the type and amount of support needed is an individualized decision for every student with an IEP.
In 2021, California legislators allocated $5.3 billion in the state budget for learning recovery support – extra tutoring, therapy, and other services that students missed during remote learning. Of that sum, $1.5 billion was marked specifically for special education. As of 2022, just over $350 million of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief fund is still available to schools, and will be through June 2023.
Funds were provided to SELPAs based on pupil count – that is, the number of students with IEPs. Each SELPA was given the freedom to work individually with their districts to determine the needs of students and how to best serve those students.
As an example, districts within the Tri-City SELPA solicited parent feedback through a survey. “We reached out to parents of children with disabilities and asked them how the pandemic affected their children, specifically relating to academics, social-emotional functioning, and behavior,” Parker explained.
Parker encourages parents to present their district with data and other concrete examples of how your student has experienced learning loss. Parents should start by making a case at their IEP. For example, the Los Angeles Unified School District now has an IEP section titled "Recoupment Consideration," allowing the IEP team to document when recoupment consideration is discussed, and whether recoupment services are recommended to address it.
Parents can also submit a written letter to the district sharing how your student has been impacted by school closures and distance learning.
“I encourage communication and collaboration between parents and the district,” Parker says. “Parents are welcome to bring any data or information that they think will assist them in conversations. Districts want to know the information.”
Special education attorney Bryan Winn tells us, “If you feel like your child is behind, approach your district. Because districts have a two-year statute of limitations, filing anything now would allow parents to claim learning loss from the second year of the pandemic.”
