Podcast | What the shutdowns taught some WA parents about special education
For some families, the pandemic provided an opportunity to better understand how their children learn.
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Dehlia Winbush and her daughter Denira outside their home in Kent, Washington, on March 18, 2022. (Chona Kasinger for Crosscut)
Of all the educational challenges created by the pandemic, none is likely as great as the requirement that public schools continue to provide “free and appropriate” education for students with special needs.
For many students and families involved in special education, the shutdowns were a nightmare. So many crucial learning accommodations seemed to vanish overnight. Local and national media decried the many failures, lawsuits were filed, and state investigations into districts, including Seattle Public Schools, found violations of the federal law that requires public schools to serve these students.
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Many of these students continue to face considerable challenges. But for some students and parents served by special education, the shutdowns provided a kind of silver lining: the opportunity to better understand how their kids learn and become better advocates for them.
For this, the final episode of this season of This Changes Everything, host Sara Bernard speaks with some of these parents about what they’ve learned about their children in these difficult days and how it has actually made their experience with education better.
Keep listening
Episode 1: How 'grace' became the word for some WA educators
Episode 2: The mental health crisis afflicting students and their teachers
Episode 3: Where online learning is actually working
Episode 4: The toll that 'normal' school takes on students of color
Episode 5: Meet the students pushing for more equity in public schools
Credits
Host/Producer: Sara Bernard
Reporters: Venice Buhain, Claudia Rowe
Editorial assistant: Brooklyn Jamerson-Flowers
Consulting editor: Donna Blankinship
Executive producer/story editor: Mark Baumgarten
Audio support: Jonah Cohen
Transcription
A transcription of this episode will be made available shortly. If you would like to be notified when the transcript is available, please email mark.baumgarten@crosscut.com.
