Synchronous eLearning days spark concerns for Indiana students with disabilities

BREMEN, Ind. — Students across Michiana are mostly back in the classroom after a stretch of snow days and virtual learning over the past two weeks. For some families with children who have disabilities, those lost learning days may come at a higher cost.

School districts across Indiana, including Bremen, have exhausted their three allotted asynchronous learning days. Rather than making those days up later in the school year, districts are choosing to use synchronous learning days granted by the state.

That decision is raising concern for one working mother in Bremen, who asked to remain anonymous, and worries her child is falling behind.

“Oh, it’s heartbreaking. I mean my hands are kind of tied,” the working mother said.

For most students at Bremen High School, eLearning days mean logging into a video call and receiving live instruction, similar to what students experienced during the pandemic. But for children with Individualized Education Plans, or IEPs, who rely heavily on routine and specialized support, virtual instruction can be especially challenging.

“Kids with IEPs, they’re not getting the help that they need,” the mother said. “How are you gonna provide appropriate resources through a Teams call?”

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, an IEP outlines specialized accommodations and steps to ensure students are entitled to a free and appropriate public education.

Sam Adams, a senior attorney with Indiana Disability Rights, says interruptions in services can have lasting effects.

“So that way, the students don’t get into that hole that requires some making up,” Adams said. “Because I think everyone understands that trying to make things up after the fact is never gonna be a true substitute for getting the education at the time.”

The mother says the accommodations outlined in her child’s IEP, including extended time and one-on-one support, are nearly impossible to receive in an online setting.

“I’m glad that it counts as a full day of school because nobody wants to go to school until the middle of June,” she said. “But at the same time, they’re not getting a full day of education. They’re not.”

She hopes more can be done to help prevent her daughter from falling further behind.

“Obviously, I understand it’s a snow day. It’s not their choice to not be there,” the mother said. “But there has to be a better way to provide these resources to the kids in the special ed program.”