Now that the first marking period is over, it is time to assess the implementation and effectiveness of your child’s 504 Plan or IEP. The IEP will dictate when you receive progress reports, but they usually coincide with report cards. Please be clear that progress reports and report cards are not the same thing. Report cards report your child’s grade in a class. Progress reports report your child’s progress on each of his or her goals and objectives. If you do not receive progress reports at the end of the marking period, be sure you request them from your case manager. Here are a few questions to ask and steps to take:

• Have you noticed your child struggling with any academic subjects?  
• Is your child taking longer than usual to complete homework assignments and/or getting frustrated when trying to do so?  
• Does your child seem withdrawn socially, unhappy about going to school, and/or exhibit emotional outbursts after school?  
• Has your child regressed, or lost any skills developed over the past school year?  
• Have any teachers reported concerns?  
• Have you been receiving copies of your child’s school work, and does it match the progress that is being reported to you?   · Compare the progress report to the IEP to confirm that each goal and objective is being tracked.   IF YOU ANSWERED YES TO ANY OF THE ABOVE:  
• Immediately schedule an appointment to meet with your child’s teacher about any concerns you have and/or request an IEP meeting which you can do at any time during the school year. You do not have to wait until parent/teacher conferences at the end of the month or an annual review IEP meeting.  
• You can also request monthly or quarterly progress meetings to more closely monitor your child’s progress.  
• If you are concerned about your child’s mental health, you can ask the school district to pay for a psychiatric evaluation.  
• If you are concerned about your child’s behavior in school, you can ask the school district to conduct a functional behavioral assessment.  
• If you are concerned about your child not making progress with a particular reading, writing or math program, you can request that quarterly assessments be administered.  
• If your child has a 504, and the modifications do not appear to be sufficient, ask for a child study team evaluation.

Late last week, the U.S. Department of Education issued a Questions and Answers document to give guidance on how Districts should be providing services to students with disabilities as the school buildings begin to close.

This past weekend, they issued a Supplemental Fact Sheet wherein they made it clear that Districts may provide special education and related services through distance instruction, whether virtually, online, or telephonically.

The question we have most frequently received since school closure became a possibility is: Does the district still have to follow my child’s IEP? In short, the answer is YES, as long as they are providing educational opportunities to the general student population. Specifically, the DOE stated that “schools must ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, each student with a disability can be provided the special education and related services identified in the student’s IEP developed under IDEA, or a plan developed under Section 504.” However, with the onset of this national emergency, the United States Department of Education has urged that parents and school districts be flexible and collaborative in working within the confines of distance teaching and safety measures to provide disabled students with a free and appropriate public education. Thus, related services that require physical contact may not be feasible at this time, but other services/accommodations such as extensions of time for assignments, videos with accurate captioning or embedded sign language interpreting, accessible reading materials, and many speech or language services through video conferencing, may be able to provided.

School districts will be required to assess on a case by case basis whether compensatory education services are required when school resumes.

We have had a few IEP meetings via google hangout and conference call within the past week. So far, they have gone more smoothly than anticipated. We are learning ways to make them more efficient (i.e., mute if you are not speaking, in order to eliminate background noise; if it is just an audio call, have speakers identify themselves). Please be patient with Districts as they work out the kinks in this new way of conducting meetings. If you have an IEP meeting coming up, or are due for an annual review meeting, we recommend you reach out to your child’s case manager to inquire how the meeting will be conducted. We have obtained the appropriate technology so that if your IEP team states that they are unable to handle a remote meeting, we can certainly “host” it for them.

Finally, we hope you are all staying safe, and away from each other! If you’d like to schedule a virtual meeting, please contact Melissa, and she will schedule something for you.

Manes & Weinberg | Special Needs Lawyers, LLC 802 South Avenue West, Westfield, New Jersey 07090 (973)376-7733 E-mail | www.manesweinberg.com

We are doing our best to keep our clients informed of the ever-changing rules and regulations surrounding special education and related services. Here are a few things to keep in mind this week: 1.  Remote services: We are pleased to report that as of April 1, 2020, the New Jersey Department of Education temporarily modified the rule pertaining to the remote provision of related services, and stated: “during an extended public health-related school closure, related services to students with disabilities shall be provided through electronic communications, virtual, remote, or other online platforms, as appropriate and as required by the student’s IEP to the greatest extent possible.”  2.  Waivers: Some districts are requiring that parents sign waivers before they will provide special education and related services. Please be aware that some of these waivers would prohibit you from later filing a due process petition claiming that the district denied your child a free appropriate public education, or even seeking compensatory education when school resumes. We encourage you to seek legal advice before signing any such waiver. 3. Advocacy: We have been working hard to collaborate and advocate for our clients who are not being provided appropriate education or related services remotely. Here is a copy of the letter to Governor Murphy, which was sent on behalf of many special education practitioners, including us.  4. Emergency funding: “The New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities has modified an existing contract with The Arc of New Jersey in response to the current COVID-19 Pandemic. The Arc of NJ will be processing requests from any individuals with I/DD, their families and any qualified community-based organizations that provide supports to people with developmental disabilities, who are affected by the statewide Coronavirus response.” The deadline is April 15, and clients tell us the application is easy. Please click this link for more information. Our office has been working well remotely. It remains our priority to keep everyone safe, while zealously advocating for our clients. Fortunately, technology has allowed us to do this without missing a beat. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns about your child’s education during this time of virtual learning. You can call Melissa at 973-376-7733, or e-mail her at admin@manesweinberg.com. Manes & Weinberg | Special Needs Lawyers, LLC802 South Avenue West, Westfield, New Jersey 07090(973)376-7733 E-mail | www.manesweinberg.com ‌  ‌  ‌

We have been fielding many quarantine-related questions, and since many of you have raised similar concerns, we thought we’d provide some answers to the more frequently asked questions: 1. Can we sign Wills and other estate planning documents remotely, and will it cost more? You can sign any and all estate planning documents remotely, and there will be no extra charge. There are certain things we need to do to ensure validity of the signing, but we can and have been doing many estate plans since the quarantine began. It seems that many people are including “finally get our Wills done” among the projects being tackled while stuck at home.  2. How are IEP meetings changing because the schools have been shut down? The only thing different in your IEP meeting should be the fact that it is not in person. All other requirements apply. For example, you should get the same notice, the same people should be “around the table,” and you can record it. You should also be sure to have your parental concerns included in the final document. TIP: Request (in writing, e-mail is fine) copies of any documents that will be discussed at the meeting, including the PLAAFP (Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance) section. Getting these ahead of time will give you the chance to review, and possibly save time during the meeting. You can certainly ask questions during the meeting, but if it all seems accurate to you, then you can move right into the planning for the next IEP. 3. If courts are closed, can we still petition for guardianship of our adult disabled child? Yes, you can. Certain rules have been relaxed to make the process easier during these times. We have been filing, processing, and finalizing guardianships without missing a beat. We will keep you posted as rules and procedures relating to these issues change, though we anticipate continuing to provide the same services we always have, albeit in a more creative manner. Of course, if you have any questions, please call or e-mail us. We have been doing zoom and phone consults since before they were mandated. Stay safe!  Manes & Weinberg | Special Needs Lawyers, LLC802 South Avenue West, Westfield, New Jersey 07090(973)376-7733E-mail | www.manesweinberg.com ‌   ‌   ‌