Special Education and Online Learning
Are you a student with special education status wondering if online leaning may be a good fit for you?
When enrolling in online learning (OLL), you need to inform the OLL provider of your special education status. You are considered a special education student if you have been identified as qualifying for special education services. This means you most likely have had an Individual Education Plan (IEP) in the past. If you are unsure of your status, consult with your previous school.
Supplementary online course enrollment
When you enroll in supplementary OLL classes, the enrolling school district continues to provide special education services. This includes keeping all IEP records up to date, monitoring progress on IEP goals, completing the Evaluation Summary Report every three years, and case management. The OLL provider is responsible for consulting with the enrolling district to provide appropriate services as needed.
Comprehensive online program enrollment
When a special education student enrolls in a comprehensive OLL program, the school will need to call an Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting to write a new IEP, to support your success in the new setting. You will receive special education services from that district and receive a high school diploma from that school.
Some special education activities requires you to show up
Some online learning schools are prepared to conduct Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings at a distance using conference calling and other technology. Other schools prefer to meet face-to-face for these meetings. A family can request that the IEP meeting be conducted through a conference call if traveling to the physical location of the school is a burden to them.
Further, many measures of progress on the IEP may need to be conducted physically at school. The Evaluation Summary Report as well as numerous probes and evaluative tests must be conducted under strict accountability measures in order to be accurate.
Direction Instruction (DI)
Special education for many students involves a variety of activities referred to as Direct Instruction (DI). The goal of DI for students is to increase their knowledge in a subject area such as spelling common words or counting money.
An Individual Education Plan (IEP) team will decide how best to provide DI to each individual special education student. They will consult with the IEP goals and work out a plan to offer the needed DI to each student.
One important consideration to make when looking at an online learning program is the way in which they deliver DI to special education students. Some online schools offer DI completely at a distance and use a variety of technology measures in order to accomplish this.
Other online learning schools offer DI in a very traditional manner, requiring that the student must be physically present in the school building a number of days each week. Before applying to an online learning school, ask how the school delivers DI, so that you know how much travelling would be required.
What is a 504 plan?
A 504 plan is designed to accommodate the unique needs of an individual with a disability, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Inform your OLL provider of your 504 status. They can obtain a copy of your 504 plan from your previous school (or your enrolling school) and work with you on any needed accommodations.
Please note that if you are on a 504 Plan, this is a different status than being a special education student.
Online resources for college-bound students with disabilities
"Preparing for College: An Online Tutorial"
This online tutorial produced by DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology). It links to online resources for college-bound teens with disabilities. Information about how parents can assist their teens in exploring these resources is included.
College: You Can DO-IT!
This video offers advice from students with disabilities and school staff about how to succeed in college. It's designed for high school students with disabilities preparing for college. The presentation is open-captioned and audio-described so that viewers who are deaf or blind can access the content. (Run time: 13:43 minutes.)
DO-IT is a collaboration of Computing & Communications and the Colleges of Engineering and Education at the University of Washington.
