FAPE during COVID-19

This has been a whirlwind of a week in special education, as in most areas that directly touch our lives and the lives of our children. The US Dept. of Education (US DOE) and MA Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) have put out multiple guidances in regards to what education could look like during the school closures. The latest guidance from the US DOE was issued on March 21, 2020. The law firm of Kotin, Crabtree & Strong of Boston has supplied us with a summary of that guidance in relation to FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education) and students’ rights to special education during the COVID-19 outbreak. I hope you find informative and helpful.

“If districts and parents work together to find creative solutions as the guidance envisions, we will emerge from this time with a stronger and more resilient system of special education.” -Kotin, Crabtree & Strong, LLP