How Many Children Need Special Education after Pandemic?
2022-12-21
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1Many schools in the United States are facing increased student behavioral and mental health needs.
2But parents and school officials are struggling to find out if some students' problems are tied to the COVID-19 pandemic or are long-term problems.
3Heidi Whitney is from San Diego, California.
4She has a daughter in middle school.
5The pandemic sent Whitney's daughter into crisis.
6She was sleeping all day and awake all night.
7When in-person classes started, she was so tense at times that she asked to come home early.
8Whitney tried to keep her daughter in class.
9But the girl's condition worsened.
10She had to go the hospital and was diagnosed with depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a mental disorder.
11As she started high school this fall, Whitney's daughter was considered eligible for special education services because her disorders hurt her ability to learn.
12But school officials said it was hard to know how much of her behavior was a long term condition or the result of mental health problems caused by the pandemic.
13"They put my kid in a gray area," Whitney said.
14Officials in many schools who are dealing with increasing student mental health needs have been struggling with difficult decisions.
15They are trying to find out whether the problems they are seeing are temporary or are the sign of more serious disabilities.
16Some observers say this puts pressure on parents trying to decide how best to help their children.
17The question is: If a child is not eligible for special education, where should parents go for help?
18Rules require school officials to say how they will meet the needs of students with disabilities in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
19Some schools have struggled to catch up with mental health evaluations that were delayed in the early days of the pandemic.
20There is also a reported shortage of school psychologists.
21Federal law says to be eligible for special education services, a child's school performance must be suffering from one of 13 disability groups.
22They include autism, ADHD, learning disabilities like dyslexia, developmental delays, and emotional problems.
23John Eisenberg is the director of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education.
24He said it is important not to send children who might have had a difficult time during the pandemic into the special education system.
25"That's not what it was designed for," he said.
26"It's really designed for kids who need specially designed instruction."
27He added: special education is not "for kids that might have not got the greatest instruction during the pandemic or have...other issues."
28The National Center for Education Statistics found about 15 percent of all public school students received special education services in the 2020-2021 school year.
29Among children ages six and older, special education enrollment rose by 2.4 percent compared with the previous school year.
30The government numbers also showed a large drop in enrollment for younger, preschool-age students, many of whom were slow to return to school.
31Some special education directors worry the system is taking on too many students.
32But others say the opposite is the case.
33They say schools are moving too quickly to dismiss parents' concerns.
34Some children are having evaluations pushed off because of worker shortages, said Marcie Lipsitt.
35She is an activist for special education in Michigan.
36She said, in one school district, evaluations came to a complete halt in May because there was no school psychologist to do them.
37It can be difficult to know the differences between problems that started because of the pandemic and an actual disability, said Brandi Tanner.
38She is an Atlanta-based psychologist who has had many requests from parents seeking evaluations for possible learning disabilities, ADHD and autism.
39"I'm asking a lot more background questions about pre-COVID versus post-COVID, like, 'Is this a change in functioning or was it something that was present before and...gotten worse?'" she said.
40Kevin Rubenstein is with the Council of Administrators of Special Education based in Missouri.
41He said it is important to have good systems in place to know the difference.
42The federal government, he noted, has provided large amounts of COVID aid money to schools.
43Some of the money is for counseling and other support to help students recover from the pandemic restrictions.
44But activists worry about what will happen to students who do not receive the help they might need.
45Children who do not get help might have more behavioral problems and fewer possibilities for life after school, said Dan Stewart.
46He is with the National Disability Rights Network.
47Whitney, the mother from San Diego, said she is happy her daughter is getting help, including a case manager.
48She also will be able to leave class as needed if she feels nervous.
49"I realize that a lot of kids were going through this," she said.
50"We just went through COVID. Give them a break."
51I'm Dan Novak.
52And I'm Faith Pirlo.
1Many schools in the United States are facing increased student behavioral and mental health needs. But parents and school officials are struggling to find out if some students' problems are tied to the COVID-19 pandemic or are long-term problems. 2Heidi Whitney is from San Diego, California. She has a daughter in middle school. The pandemic sent Whitney's daughter into crisis. She was sleeping all day and awake all night. When in-person classes started, she was so tense at times that she asked to come home early. 3Whitney tried to keep her daughter in class. But the girl's condition worsened. She had to go the hospital and was diagnosed with depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a mental disorder. 4As she started high school this fall, Whitney's daughter was considered eligible for special education services because her disorders hurt her ability to learn. But school officials said it was hard to know how much of her behavior was a long term condition or the result of mental health problems caused by the pandemic. 5"They put my kid in a gray area," Whitney said. 6Officials in many schools who are dealing with increasing student mental health needs have been struggling with difficult decisions. They are trying to find out whether the problems they are seeing are temporary or are the sign of more serious disabilities. 7Some observers say this puts pressure on parents trying to decide how best to help their children. The question is: If a child is not eligible for special education, where should parents go for help? 8Rules require school officials to say how they will meet the needs of students with disabilities in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Some schools have struggled to catch up with mental health evaluations that were delayed in the early days of the pandemic. There is also a reported shortage of school psychologists. 9Federal law says to be eligible for special education services, a child's school performance must be suffering from one of 13 disability groups. They include autism, ADHD, learning disabilities like dyslexia, developmental delays, and emotional problems. 10John Eisenberg is the director of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education. He said it is important not to send children who might have had a difficult time during the pandemic into the special education system. 11"That's not what it was designed for," he said. "It's really designed for kids who need specially designed instruction." 12He added: special education is not "for kids that might have not got the greatest instruction during the pandemic or have...other issues." 13The National Center for Education Statistics found about 15 percent of all public school students received special education services in the 2020-2021 school year. 14Among children ages six and older, special education enrollment rose by 2.4 percent compared with the previous school year. The government numbers also showed a large drop in enrollment for younger, preschool-age students, many of whom were slow to return to school. 15Some special education directors worry the system is taking on too many students. But others say the opposite is the case. They say schools are moving too quickly to dismiss parents' concerns. 16Some children are having evaluations pushed off because of worker shortages, said Marcie Lipsitt. She is an activist for special education in Michigan. She said, in one school district, evaluations came to a complete halt in May because there was no school psychologist to do them. 17It can be difficult to know the differences between problems that started because of the pandemic and an actual disability, said Brandi Tanner. She is an Atlanta-based psychologist who has had many requests from parents seeking evaluations for possible learning disabilities, ADHD and autism. 18"I'm asking a lot more background questions about pre-COVID versus post-COVID, like, 'Is this a change in functioning or was it something that was present before and...gotten worse?'" she said. 19Kevin Rubenstein is with the Council of Administrators of Special Education based in Missouri. He said it is important to have good systems in place to know the difference. 20The federal government, he noted, has provided large amounts of COVID aid money to schools. Some of the money is for counseling and other support to help students recover from the pandemic restrictions. 21But activists worry about what will happen to students who do not receive the help they might need. Children who do not get help might have more behavioral problems and fewer possibilities for life after school, said Dan Stewart. He is with the National Disability Rights Network. 22Whitney, the mother from San Diego, said she is happy her daughter is getting help, including a case manager. She also will be able to leave class as needed if she feels nervous. 23"I realize that a lot of kids were going through this," she said. "We just went through COVID. Give them a break." 24I'm Dan Novak. 25And I'm Faith Pirlo. 26Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 27_______________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29diagnose -v. to formally recognize and identify something such as a disease 30eligible - adj. able to receive of be chosen for something 31gray area - n. a situation in which it is difficult to decide what is right and what is wrong 32evaluation - n. to judge the condition of someone or some thing 33autism - n. a disorder that begins in childhood and which causes problems for a person forming relationships and communicating 34dyslexia - n. a condition that makes it difficult for people to read, write or spell 35instruction -n. the process of teaching someone 36enrollment - n. to process of formally asking to enter a program, school or university 37background - n. the conditions that caused something to be the way it is 38function - v. to work, perform a job or operate