Many of the nation’s 7 million students with disabilities — a group representing 14% of American schoolchildren — are experiencing academic setbacks during the pandemic. Advocates for these students say the extended months of learning from home and erratic attempts to reopen schools are deepening a crisis that began with the switch to distance learning in March.
School districts have also struggled to deliver guaranteed services such as physical therapy that must be done in person or that require equipment, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office.
Speech pathologist Tara Kirkpatrick said the video sessions she conducts from her Comal, Texas, school office bear little resemblance to speech therapy delivered face to face. On video, she cannot tap a student’s desk to get them back on track.
Still, she believes teachers and families are doing their best under the circumstances.
“It’s not ideal … and there’s nothing that we can do about that right now,” she said.
Not everyone agrees. A federal class-action lawsuit that named every state education department in the country sought a court order to either immediately reopen schools for students with special needs or issue vouchers for parents who have had to leave jobs or hire outside help to fill in the gaps.
A judge in New York City dismissed the suit, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction, but not before more than 500 families in 35 states had moved to sign on.
Older students aging out of services will not have time to recover, attorney Patrick Donohue said. Federal law entitles students with disabilities educational services up to the age of 21.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has named Tina Flournoy, a veteran Democratic strategist and aide to the Clintons, as her chief of staff, the transition team announced Thursday.
Flournoy’s appointment as Harris’ top staffer adds to a team of advisers led by Black women. Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian heritage, is the nation’s first female vice president. Flournoy joins Ashley Etienne as Harris’ communications director and Symone Sanders as her chief spokeswoman.
Harris also announced Rohini Kosoglu as her domestic policy adviser and Nancy McEldowney as her national security adviser. Kosoglu had served as Harris’ top adviser during the general election campaign. McEldowney is a former ambassador to Bulgaria and has 30 years of service in various diplomatic and foreign affairs jobs.
A small plane has crash-landed and hit a vehicle on a Minnesota interstate, with no injuries reported, authorities say.
The single-engine Bellanca Viking plane was temporarily closing part of the highway Wednesday night in the Minneapolis-area city of Arden Hills, officials said.
Two people were on board, KMSP-TV reported. The pilot has been identified as 52-year-old Craig Gifford of Minneapolis.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation and Safety Board are investigating.
Mia Laube can be reached at mia.laube@stthomas.edu.