Issaquah School District E-news
June 30, 2021
Special Services Recovery Services and Transition Recovery Services Plans
To Parents of Students with Disabilities -
The Special Services Department is working to develop a recovery services plan and a transition recovery services plan. Our values around planning for the services include parent partnership, deep understanding of the recent guidelines and a clear focus on student achievement. The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has approved the Issaquah School District’s Academic and Student Well-being Recovery Plan, which outlines the district recovery plan for all students. We continue to receive guidance from OSPI on the provision of services to students with disabilities, including the most recent update posted June 4.
We are in the process of building the ISD special services recovery plan and will share this in the upcoming weeks. We share your sense of urgency and the importance of delivering individualized recovery services to students with disabilities designed to address the lack of appropriate progress on IEP goals due to missed or limited special education and related services, or lack of progress for other reasons as a result of the pandemic.
For summer 2021, our top priority is two groups of students based on time sensitivity. These are:
- ACT students who have turned 21 within the past year who have not met their transition IEP goals.
- High school seniors who have not met all their IEP goals.
Next year, families should expect an IEP team meeting to include the discussion of recovery services no later than their annual IEP review date. We are eager to hold IEP meetings as quickly as possible. Families will not need to make a special request for this process to occur. Every student will be considered for recovery services. The resulting team recommendation will be documented in a Prior Written Notice. The IEP team will consider:
- The degree to which services were offered and accessed through remote, in-person and hybrid models.
- Progress or lack of progress made in the general education curriculum and toward meeting the IEP goals.
- Parent input.
Recovery services are intended to be additional services, based on individual needs as determined by the IEP team. These services can be offered outside of the school day, during school breaks. They can be in-person or via a virtual platform.
Special Services anticipates recovery services will be offered next school year and beyond. As part of our commitment to serving students and families, we recognize that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and socio-political events of the past year have impacted everyone in unique ways. As we move forward with implementing the district’s Well-Being and Recovery Plan, we ask for your continued understanding and support as your IEP teams meet to discuss recovery services and work with your family to build a plan to continue moving your student forward in the coming years.